What Can New Survey Data Tell Us about Recent Changes in Distribution and Poverty?

Martin Ravallion () and Shaohua Chen

World Bank Economic Review, 1997, vol. 11, issue 2, pages 357-82

Abstract: It has been claimed that in recent times the poor have lost ground, both relatively and absolutely, even when average levels of living have risen. This article tests that claim using household surveys for 67 developing and transitional economies over 1981-94. It finds that changes in inequality and polarization were uncorrelated with changes in average living standards. Distribution improved as often as it worsened in growing economies, and negative growth was often more detrimental to distribution than positive growth. Overall, there was a small decrease in absolute poverty, although with diverse experiences across regions aced countries. Almost always, poverty fell with growth in average living standards and rose with contraction. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.

Date: 1997
View citations in EconPapers

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Working Paper: What can new survey data tell us about recent changes in distribution and poverty? (1996)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:11:y:1997:i:2:p:357-82

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.oup.co.uk/journals

Access Statistics for this article

World Bank Economic Review is edited by Jaime de Melo

More articles in World Bank Economic Review from Oxford University Press
Address: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK
Series data maintained by Christopher F. Baum ().