The new "Global Justice Report" by the World Inequality Lab in France — which calls for caps on economic growth in rich countries, top income-tax rates of 90 percent and a World Sovereign Fund to redistribute wealth to the Global South — has reignited one of the oldest debates in economics: How do we actually lift people out of poverty?

The data have never left much question. The answer is economic growth. Nonetheless, many development economists have spent decades arguing that growth isn't enough or as important as development aid. The French report is simply a radical expression of a popular view. So, it's worth reviewing the evidence again.

Stated plainly, every country that has gotten richer overall has also reduced poverty. More importantly, no poor country has ever achieved decent living standards without first getting genuinely richer. Obviously, wealth and basic human wellbeing move together, but the relationship is so reliable that it's more like a physical law than a social-science finding.

People in poverty have little access to food, clean water, decent shelter, basic medical care and schooling. Adequate amounts do not exist in nature; they must be produced. As an economy grows, it produces more of these things. This enables more growth, which, in turn, lifts the masses out of poverty.

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