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Poverty-fighting programs are not handouts - they are investments.

Infrastructure alone won't end poverty. The World Bank had to learn this lesson, too. While we believed too much in bricks and mortar in our early days, we now understand that bringing together funding, technical expertise, and tested knowledge goes much further.

I think that charity is a tricky thing, because a lot of times, people equate charity with handouts. I don't believe in handouts.

Global poverty is a complex web of interlinked problems. There is no one 'silver bullet' that will solve global inequality. Multiple contributing factors must be tackled in parallel. Yes, education alone is unlikely to lead to employment without economic reform to address the demand side in much of the developing world.

Let me first say that I don't think the millennium target of cutting global poverty in half is an impossible or abstract target. I think it is a real and achievable goal.

If we take the route of the permanent handout, the American character will itself be impoverished.

For those who are able to work, work has to be seen as the best route out of poverty. For work is not just about more money - it is transformative. It's about taking responsibility for yourself and your family.

The only way to have a better world and end poverty is by closing the gap between the top and the bottom.

The biggest single thing that has lifted people out of poverty is free trade.

We can no longer prosper by increasing human productivity. The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.