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82. Foreign Aid Resurgent: New Spirit or Old Hangover?
- Author:
- Peter Burnell
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This study is premised on the view that reports circulating in the 1990s, claiming foreign aid was in terminal crisis, were premature. Aid's reviving fortunes are explained in terms both of a growing awareness of the uneven implications of globalization and the after-effects of the terrorist events of 11 September 2001. However these two 'drivers' make uneasy partners. Furthermore, aid for democratization, argued in the 1990s to be an instrument for indirectly addressing socioeconomic weakness and improving development aid's effectiveness—making it a positive feature in a bleak decade—is increasingly seen as problematic. For now, aid's resurgence should target pro-poor development rather than democratic reform, although the likelihood is that old fashioned determinants of realpolitik will continue to get in the way.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
83. Spatial Horizontal Inequality and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal
- Author:
- S. Mansoob Murshed and Scott Gates
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The Maoist insurgency in Nepal is one of the highest intensity internal conflicts in recent times. Investigation into the causes of the conflict would suggest that grievance rather than greed is the main motivating force. The concept of horizontal or inter-group inequality, with both an ethnic and caste dimension, is highly relevant in explaining the Nepalese civil war. There is also a spatial aspect to the conflict, which is most intense in the most disadvantaged areas in terms of human development indicators and land holdings. Using the intensity of conflict (fatalities) as the dependent variable and HDI indicators and landlessness as explanatory variables, we find that the intensity of conflict across the districts of Nepal is significantly explained by the degree of inequalities.
- Topic:
- Ethnic Conflict, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and Nepal
84. Prospects for 'Pro-Poor' Growth in Africa
- Author:
- Abebe Shimeles and Arne Bigsten
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines trends in income distribution and its linkages to economic growth and poverty reduction in order to understand the prospects for achieving poverty reduction in Africa. We examine the levels and trends in income distribution in some African countries and calculate pro-poor growth indices. Different growth patterns are simulated for Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, and South Africa. We conclude that the balance between policies aimed at growth and measures aimed at redistribution should depend on the elasticity of the growth-equity tradeoff. We also discuss what the appropriate ingredients of a pro-poor strategy would be in the African setting.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Africa, South Africa, Mozambique, and Ethiopia
85. Longevity in Russia's Regions: Do Poverty and Low Public Health Spending Kill?
- Author:
- Oleksiy Ivaschenko
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the impact of changes in poverty and public health spending on inter-temporal variations in longevity using a unique regional-level dataset that covers 77 regions of Russia over the period 1994-2000. The dynamic panel data model is used as a tool for the empirical analysis. The model is estimated using the Arellano-Bond dynamic panel data estimator. The changes in regional levels of poverty and real per capita public health expenditure are identified to be significant determinants of the variations observed in longevity over time. The empirical results indicate that while male life expectancy responds more strongly than female life expectancy to economic circumstances, the latter appears to be more predisposed to the influence of public health spending. The results support the idea that the (positive) effect of public health spending on life expectancy is larger for those regions that experience higher incidences of poverty. The paper also finds that the financial crisis which hit Russia at the end of 1998 had a significant negative effect on longevity independently of the factors directly related to poverty and public health spending.
- Topic:
- Human Welfare, Political Economy, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
86. Dynamics of Poverty in Ethiopia
- Author:
- Abebe Shimeles and Arne Bigsten
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper addresses issues related to the dynamics of income poverty using unique household panel data for urban and rural areas of Ethiopia covering the period 1994-97. The percentage of households that remained in poverty was twice as large in urban areas as in rural areas. This suggests that income variability is a serious problem in rural areas, while the persistence is a key feature of urban poverty. The paper also discusses household characteristics that are correlated with the incidence of chronic poverty as well as vulnerability to poverty. A strategy that promotes consumption smoothing through say access to credit can work well in rural areas, while income or employment generation are required for poverty alleviation in urban areas.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia
87. On the Arbitrariness and Robustness of Multi-Dimensional Poverty Rankings
- Author:
- Mozaffar Qizilbash
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- It is often argued that multi-dimensional measures of well-being and poverty—such as those based on the capability approach and related views—are ad hoc. Rankings based on them are not, for this reason, robust to changes in the selection of weights used. In this paper, it is argued that the extent of potential arbitrariness and the range of issues relating to robustness have been underestimated in this context. Several issues relating to both the identification of the poor and the use of dimension-specific data are distinguished. These issues are then discussed in the context of the inter-provincial ranking of poverty in South Africa in 1995-6. It turns out that this ranking is fairly robust, and that some important policy-relevant results about the distinction between 'income'/'expenditure' and 'human' poverty for the South African context are reinforced rather than undermined by checking for robustness. In particular, while KwaZulu Natal is in the best three in terms of the standard expenditure measures for various choices of poverty line, it is third worst in terms of all the multi-dimensional rankings presented here.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
88. Spatial Inequality and Development in Central Asia
- Author:
- Kathryn Anderson and Richard Pomfret
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on inequality in living standards across oblasts and regions within Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Regional inequality is an important area of research and policy development. Inequality in income and consumption are logical outcomes in a market-based economic system. If inequality within countries exists because of barriers to competition, then inequality can foment internal tension, and economic and social development within countries is negatively affected. We examine Living Standards Measurement data from Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, and Kazakhstan and additional survey data from Uzbekistan. We find that the most important explanations for the variation in expenditures per capita in the region are household location, household composition, and education. We find large variation in per capita expenditure by location within each country, and the differences go beyond the simple rural-urban distinction. Family structure is also important, and in all countries, having a university educated household head significantly improves household welfare; expenditures are higher in these households than in households with less educated heads. We examine inequality in access to community services and find that provision of public goods reinforces regional inequality patterns in expenditures that we measure among households. The poorest households are likely to live in communities with the lowest access to public services.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
89. Trade Liberalization and Spatial Inequality: A Methodological Innovation in Vietnamese Perspective
- Author:
- Henning Tarp Jensen and Finn Tarp
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- In this paper we calibrate two static computable general equilibrium (CGE) models with respectively 16 and 5,999 representative households. Aggregated and disaggregated household categories are consistently embedded in a 2000 social accounting matrix for Vietnam, mapping on a one-to-one basis to each other. Distinct differences in poverty assessments emerge when the impact of trade liberalization is analyzed in the two models. This highlights the importance of modeling micro household behavior and related income and expenditure distributions endogenously within a static CGE model framework. Our simulations indicate that poverty will rise following a revenue-neutral lowering of trade taxes. This is interpreted as a worst case scenario, which suggests that government should be proactive in combining trade liberalization measures with a propoor fiscal response to avoid increasing poverty in the short to medium term.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Vietnam and Southeast Asia
90. Economic Well-being and Non-economic Well-being: A Review of the Meaning and Measurement of Poverty
- Author:
- Andrew Sumner
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper discusses the measurement of poverty and well-being. A historical overview is given of the last fifty years. This is followed by discussion of three groupings of indicators: those measures based primarily on economic well-being; those based on non-economic well-being and composite indicators. It is argued that the choice of indicator should reflect its purpose and that economic measures are best when quick, rough-and-ready, short run, aggregate inferences are required. In contrast, non-economic measures are better when greater depth on medium- or longer-term trends and/or dis-aggregation are required.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
91. Well-being and the Complexity of Poverty: A Subjective Well-being Approach
- Author:
- Mariano Rojas
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This investigation studies human well-being from a subjective well-being approach. On the basis of a Mexican database the investigation shows that there is a weak relationship between subjective well-being and indicators of well-being such as income and consumption. Therefore, subjective well-being provides additional useful information to study human well-being and, in consequence, poverty.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Central America, North America, and Mexico
92. Income-based Measures of Average Well-being
- Author:
- Steve Dowrick
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Internation comparisons of average national incomes omit important information about leisure, home production, health, etc. They are also bedevilled by index number problems. This paper suggests ways of combining working hours and life-expectancy with income comparisons, and shows that the fixed-price indexes of real income, such as those in the Penn World Table, substantially understate the income gaps between the poorest and richest countries.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
93. Subjective Measures of Well-being
- Author:
- Ruut Veenhoven
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper deals with three questions: (1) What are 'subjective' measures? (2) What is 'well-being'? and (3) Are subjective measures of well-being of use for policymaking, in particular in developing nations?
- Topic:
- Development, Human Welfare, and Poverty
94. Human Well-being: Concepts and Conceptualizations
- Author:
- Des Gasper
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Economic measures of income have ignored large areas of human well-being and are poor measures of well-being in the areas to which they attend. Despite increased recognition of those distortions, 'GNP per capita continues to be regarded as the quintessential indicator of a country's living standard' (Partha Dasgupta). Well-being seems to have intuitive plausibility as a concept, but in practice we encounter a bewilderingly diverse family of concepts and approaches, partly reflecting different contexts, purposes, and foci of attention. Is there a unifying framework that yet respects the complexity and diversity of well-being? This paper presents an imperfect comparative and integrative framework that builds on the contributions by Sen and others. We move toward the framework gradually, since well-being concepts are in fact complex entitities which reflect pictures of personhood and of science. Insight grows through surveying a wide range of relevant experience and views, before risking blinkering one's vision in a framework. The paper then uses the framework to examine conceptualizations of human well-being, by Dasgupta, Sen, Nussbaum, Doyal and Gough, and Alkire.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Development, Human Welfare, and Poverty
95. Gender-related Indicators of Well-being
- Author:
- Stephan Klasen
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper discusses the rationale as well as the challenges involved when constructing gender-related indicators of well-being. It argues that such indicators are critically important but that their construction involves a number of conceptual and measurement problems. Among the conceptual issues considered are the space in which gender inequality in well-being is to be measured, whether the indicators should track wellbeing of males and females separately or adjust overall measures of well-being by the gender inequality in well-being, whether gender equality in every indicator is necessarily the goal, how to assess gender inequality that is apparently desired by males and females, and what role indicators of agency or empowerment should play in genderrelated indicators of well-being. Among the most important measurement issues addressed are; the role of the household in allocating resources, the question of stocks versus flows, as well as significant data gaps when it comes to gender inequalities. Where appropriate, remedies to the conceptual and measurement issues are proposed. The paper also briefly reviews UNDP's gender-related indices to illustrate some of the challenges involved.
- Topic:
- Development, Gender Issues, Human Welfare, and Poverty
96. Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Poverty Analysis
- Author:
- Erik Thorbecke
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The objective of this paper is to review a number of issues related to poverty, while taking stock of the ongoing research. Most of the remaining unresolved issues in poverty analysis are related directly or indirectly to the dynamics of poverty. Before the development community can become more successful in designing and implementing poverty-alleviation strategies, within the context of growth, we need to understand better the conditions under which some households remain permanently (chronically) poor and how others move in and out of poverty. In what follows we review the state of the art under a number of interrelated headings: (1) Chronic vs. transient poverty; (2) Poverty and vulnerability; (3) The determination of the poverty line across time and countries; (4) The quantitative vs. qualitative approach to poverty measurement; and (5) Growth, inequality and poverty.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
97. Inequality and Welfare Evaluation of Heterogeneous Income Distributions
- Author:
- Anthony Shorrocks
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper establishes the principles which should govern the welfare and inequality analysis of heterogeneous income distributions. Two basic criteria—the 'equity preference' condition and the 'compensation principle'—are shown to be fundamentally incompatible. The paper favours the latter, thereby vindicating the traditional method of dealing with heterogeneous samples. However, inequality and welfare comparisons will usually be well defined only if equivalent incomes are obtained using constant scale factors; and researchers will need to distinguish clearly between inequality of nominal incomes and inequality of living standards. Furthermore, household observations must always be weighted according to family size.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
98. The Rise or Fall of World Inequality: A Spurious Controversy?
- Author:
- Bart Capéau and André Decoster
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- In the age of globalization, the question whether inequality in the world rose or fell down, is a hot topic. Leading scholars in the field of economic inequality measurement developed methods to estimate empirically the distribution of welfare (income) amongst world citizens. Despite their similar methodologies, they do not seem to agree about the conclusion. In the present paper we pinpoint what drives the two extreme positions apart. Sala-i-Martin (2002a, b), who claims that there can be no doubt that world inequality went down between the late 1970s and the late 1990s, has in fact calculated population weighted inequality between countries. Milanovic (2002a, b, c) does not deny this, but illustrates the empirical importance of divergent tendencies at the sub-national level (especially urban versus rural regions) for assessing true world inequality and comes to the reverse conclusion. Nevertheless, there seems to be unanimity, especially amongst the contributions quoted here, about the inequality measure(s) to be used for assessing world income distributions. We show that at least for international inequality, there is empirical evidence for rank reversals among the class of generalized entropy measures and expect the same to be true of world inequality. However, the normative debate about which inequality measure to use for assessing true world inequality has not yet begun.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, and Third World
99. Spatial Decomposition of Inequality
- Author:
- Guanghua Wan and Anthony Shorrocks
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews the theory and application of decomposition techniques in the context of spatial inequality. It establishes some new theoretical results with potentially wide applicability, and examines empirical evidence drawn from a large number of countries.
- Topic:
- Development, Globalization, and Poverty
100. Africa's Recovery from Conflict: Making Peace Work for the Poor
- Author:
- Tony Addison
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The period 1990-2000 saw 19 major armed-conflicts in Africa, ranging from civil wars to the 1998-2000 war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Peace has been elusive, and the term 'post-conflict' is often a sad misnomer.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Ethiopia, and Eritrea