Despite the robust economic growth of Asia in the last two decades, poverty remains widespread and income inequality continues to widen, according to a study released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday.

The study, titled "ADB's Support for Inclusive Growth" released by the Manila-based lender's Independent Evaluation Department, said nearly 750 million people in the region still survive on less than 1.25 U.S. dollars a day. Income inequality has also risen more than 20 percent in the last 20 years.

"These levels hinder further economic advancement and even threaten the sustainability of an otherwise sharp reduction in poverty," the ADB study noted.

It added that overall growth has failed to translate into improvements in average living standards. ADB said one of the indications that growth is not reaching a broad segment of the population is relatively weak household consumption.

"Household consumption grew 5.7 percent annually in the 1990s in the region and 5.5 percent in the 2000s, well below gross domestic product growth of 9 percent and 8.2 percent in the last two decades," the study read.

The study said development organizations such as the ADB can step up efforts to integrate "inclusive growth" into their development strategies. ADB, which adopted inclusive growth as a strategic agenda in 2008, is calibrating its operations to achieve inclusiveness.

It also called for better coordination among development organizations to tailor inclusive approaches to specific contexts and needs of countries. Endi

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