|
 KYOTO, Japan (AP) - The dual realities speak for themselves. Asia's poverty rate has plummeted from about 50 percent to less than 19 percent in the past four decades and average income has grown nearly sixfold, but nearly 2 billion people still live on less than $2 a day.
Asia stands at the crossroads of poverty and prosperity — and its arrival is widening divisions over how to manage the economic boom and ensure that no one is excluded.
The debate climaxed Monday as the Asian Development Bank wrapped up its annual meeting with no clear consensus. The bank, founded in 1966 to end poverty, now says prosperity poses the newest threat to the continent.
|