Incluye bibliografía.

Introduction -- 1. Framework for analysis -- 2. Measurement issues -- 3. Impact of human resources on income of poor people -- 4. The impact of poverty on human resource investments -- 5. The impact of economic adjustment programs on human resources of the poor -- 6. Other macro considerations -- 7. Conclusions.

Poverty in the developing world is a major challenge. Investments in human resources are considered critical elements of efforts to alleviate poverty. Conversely, inadequacies in human resources often are thought to be manifestations of poverty. This paper attempts to sort out relationships between human resources and poverty, based on recent studies. Since this paper deals primarily with behavior at the individual or household level, and since simple economic theory provides guidelines for empirical research at that level, it begins with brief descriptions of the human capital investment model. The paper then turns briefly to some measurement issues. Next it considers the impact of human resources on the income of poor people, and the determinants of human resource investments. The author then takes up allegations of deleterious effects of structural adjustment programs on the human resources of the poor, considering some macroeconomic issues, including those models that focus on human resources. The author concludes by offering some thoughts on the relationships between human resources and poverty and points to a number of areas related to human resource-poverty links in which further research might have a high payoff in terms of understanding and in terms of policy formulation.