| Growth is necessary, and sufficient for poverty reduction | Pre-Reform (1977 to 1983 and 1983 to 1987) | Post-Reform (1987 to 1993 and 1993 to 1999) |
| Trickle down works Growth up, poverty down Growth down, poverty up | Cases | % of Cases | Cases | % of Cases |
| 47 | 78.3 | 43 | 71.7 |
| 2 | 3.3 | 5 | 8.3 |
| Trickle does not work Growth up, poverty down Growth down, poverty up | 4 | 6.7 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 11.7 | 12 | 20 |
| Total | 60 | 100 | 60 | 100 |
| Source: Large sample NSS data for 1997, 1983, 1987, 1993 and 1999 Note: Each cell represents the number of economies experiencing the growth-poverty combination for any given year. Since only 15 big states are considered, each year has 30 observations e.g. Bihar rural and Bihar urban counts as 2 economies. |