Poverty comparisons - such as whether poverty has increased, or where it is greatest, are typically clouded in conceptual and methodological uncertainties. How should individual well-being be assessed in deciding who is poor? Is a household survey a reliable guide? Where should the poverty line be drawn, and does the choice matter? This monograph surveys the issues that need to be considered in answering these questions, providing an accessible introduction to the most recent literature. T...

There are fewer people living in extreme poverty in the world today than 30 years ago. While that is an achievement, continuing progress for poor people is far from assured. Inequalities in access to key resources threaten to stall growth and poverty reduction in many places. The world's poorest have made only a small absolute gain over those 30 years. Progress has been slow against relative poverty as judged by the standards of the country and time one lives in, and a great many people in...

This book is a case study of Vietnam's efforts to fight poverty using market-oriented land reforms. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country undertook major institutional reforms, and an impressive reduction in poverty followed. But what role did the reforms play? Did the efficiency gains from reform come at a cost to equity? Were there both winners and losers? Was rising rural landlessness in the wake of reforms a sign of success or failure? 'Land in Transition' investigates the impacts on liv...

La evaluación de impacto es un tipo de estudio que permite identificar si las políticas, los programas o proyectos causaron un efecto positivo sobre la población que los recibió. Si partimos de la premisa de que las políticas públicas son instrumentales —medios para alcanzar un fin—, la evaluación de impacto es, en muchos sentidos, su prueba de fuego. Por abocarse a la realización de inferencias causales, la evaluación de impacto se considera la joya de la corona de la investigación aplica...

India's ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Act creates a justiciable 'right to work' by promising up to 100 days of employment per year to all rural households whose adult members want unskilled manual work on public works projects at the stipulated minimum wage. Are the conditions stipulated by the Act met in practice, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)? What impact on poverty do the earnings from the scheme have? Does the scheme meet ...

This book is a case study of Vietnam's efforts to fight poverty using market-oriented land reforms. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country undertook major institutional reforms, and an impressive reduction in poverty followed. But what role did the reforms play? Did the efficiency gains from reform come at a cost to equity? Were there both winners and losers? Was rising rural landlessness in the wake of reforms a sign of success or failure?Land in Transition investigates the impacts on livi...

First published in 1994. Drawing on a personal network, an economist can still relatively easily stay well informed in the narrow field in which he works, but to keep up with the development of economics as a whole is a much more formidable challenge. Economics are confronted with difficulties associated with the rapid development of their discipline. There is a risk of ‘balkanization’ in economics, which may not be favorable to its development. Fundamentals of Pure and Applied Economics h...

India's 2005 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act creates a justiciable 'right to work' by promising up to 100 days of wage employment per year to all rural households whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Work is provided in public works projects at the stipulated minimum wage. This study asks: Are the conditions stipulated by the Act met in practice? How much impact on poverty do the earnings from the scheme have? Why might that impact fall short of its potential?...

There are fewer people living in extreme poverty in the world today than thirty years ago. While that is an achievement, continuing progress for poor people is far from assured. Inequalities in access to key resources threaten to stall growth and poverty reduction in many places. The world's poorest have made only a small absolute gain over those thirty years. Progress has been slow against relative poverty as judged by the standards of the country and time one lives in, and a great many p...