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'The Challenge of World Poverty' was written by:
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Answer: Option A — Gunnar Myrdal
Detailed Solution
"The Challenge of World Poverty: A World Anti-Poverty Program in Outline" is a book by the Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal, published in 1970.
About the book:
- It followed his major study of South Asia and discussed the problems of poverty in developing countries.
- Myrdal argued that development requires not only economic growth but also social and institutional reforms, such as land reform, better education, health care and fighting corruption.
- He also argued that rich countries had a moral responsibility to help poor countries.
About Gunnar Myrdal (1898-1987):
- He was a Swedish economist, sociologist and politician.
- His most famous work on India and South Asia is "Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations" (1968), a three-volume study.
In "Asian Drama", he described many South Asian countries, including India, as "soft states". By this, he meant states that make good laws and policies but lack the will or discipline to enforce them.
His earlier book "An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy" (1944) was a famous study of race relations in the USA. It was cited by the US Supreme Court in the case "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954), which ended racial segregation in schools.
He also developed the theory of "circular and cumulative causation", which explains how inequality between regions tends to increase.
He was Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (1947-1957).
He shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974 with Friedrich Hayek, although they held very different views.
His wife, Alva Myrdal, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for her work on disarmament.
Other economists who wrote on poverty:
- Amartya Sen: "Poverty and Famines" (1981); Nobel (1998).
- John Kenneth Galbraith: "The Affluent Society" (1958); US Ambassador to India (1961-63).
- Jeffrey Sachs: "The End of Poverty" (2005).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Amartya Sen wrote "Poverty and Famines".
- ✗John Kenneth Galbraith wrote "The Affluent Society".
- ✗Jeffrey Sachs wrote "The End of Poverty".
Quick tip
Remember: Gunnar Myrdal = "Asian Drama" (1968, "soft state"), "The Challenge of World Poverty" (1970), "An American Dilemma"; Nobel 1974 with Hayek; "Poverty and Famines" = Amartya Sen.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.