This chapter, which addresses the challenge posed by poverty to human rights protection, first explains the meaning of ‘poverty’ and explores its relationship to human rights, development, and social justice. It also considers the context of globalization, and then illustrates the ways in which human rights concerns diverge from those of development and poverty reduction. The chapter examines how economists think about poverty and human rights, and analyses the thinking of governors of central banks and ministers of finance. Next, it addresses the convergence between human rights and anti-poverty agendas, beginning with some economic thinking that is congruent with human rights, and then turns to policies aiming to combat poverty using human rights tools.
