Globalization, Growth, and Distribution : Framing the Questions

In the last two decades, across a range of countries high growth rates have reduced poverty but have been accompanied by rising inequality. This paper is motivated by this stylized fact, and by the strong distributional concerns that persist among populations and policy makers alike, despite the poverty reduction observed in official statistics where growth has been sufficiently high. This seeming disconnects frames the questions posed in this paper. Why the disconnect, and what to do about it? It is argued that official poverty statistics may be missing key elements of the ground level reality of distributional evolution, of which rising inequality may be an indirect indicator. Heterogeneity of population means that there may be significant numbers of poor losers from technical change, economic reform and global integration, even when overall measured poverty falls. In terms of actions, attention is drawn to the role of safety nets as generalized compensation mechanisms, to address the ethical and political economy dimensions of such a pattern of distributional evolution. Addressing structural inequalities is also a long term answer with payoffs in terms of equitable growth. In terms of future analysis, diminishing returns have set in to the inequality-growth cross-country regressions literature. Further work to help policy makers should focus on: (i) new information to illuminate the disconnect; (ii) analysis and assessment of safety nets as generalized compensation mechanisms; and (iii) addressing specific forms of structural inequality related to assets, gender, and social groupings like caste or ethnicity.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Kanbur, Ravi
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2008
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE POVERTY, ASSET INEQUALITY, AVERAGE GROWTH, CASH TRANSFERS, CIVIL SOCIETY, CLIMATE CHANGE, COMPENSATORY POLICIES, CONFLICT, COUNTERFACTUAL, COUNTRY CASE, COUNTRY DATA, COUNTRY LEVEL, COUNTRY REGRESSIONS, CREDIT MARKET, CROSS-COUNTRY DATA, CROSS-COUNTRY REGRESSION, CROSS-COUNTRY STUDIES, DATA SET, DECLINING INEQUALITY, DECLINING POVERTY, DECOMPOSABLE POVERTY MEASURES, DECREASING INEQUALITY, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS, DEVELOPMENT REPORT, DIMINISHING RETURNS, DISTRIBUTION DATA, DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGE, DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGES, DISTRIBUTIONAL CONCERNS, DISTRIBUTIONAL OUTCOMES, DISTRIBUTIVE POLITICS, ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, ECONOMIC LITERATURE, ECONOMIC POLICY, ECONOMIC REFORM, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC REVIEW, ECONOMICS, ECONOMICS LETTERS, ECONOMICS LITERATURE, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, EMPIRICAL LITERATURE, EMPIRICAL STUDIES, EMPIRICAL WORK, EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME, ENDOGENOUS GROWTH, ENDOGENOUS GROWTH MODEL, EQUAL DISTRIBUTION, EXCHANGE RATE, EXCHANGE RATE POLICY, EXTERNAL SHOCKS, FACTOR ENDOWMENTS, FALLING POVERTY, FARMERS, FIXED EFFECTS, FOOD CONSUMPTION, FOOD POLICY, FOOD SUBSIDIES, FOREIGN TRADE, GENDER GAPS, GENDER INEQUALITY, GINI COEFFICIENT, GINI INDEX, GLOBAL ECONOMY, GLOBAL POVERTY, GROUP INEQUALITIES, GROUP INEQUALITY, GROUP MEANS, GROWTH EFFECT, GROWTH MODEL, GROWTH PERFORMANCE, GROWTH PROCESS, GROWTH RATE, GROWTH RATES, HEAD COUNT RATIO, HEADCOUNT RATIO, HIGH GROWTH, HIGH INEQUALITY, HIGH-INEQUALITY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD INCOMES, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT, IMPACT ON POVERTY, IMPORT TARIFFS, INCIDENCE OF POVERTY, INCOME, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME DISTRIBUTION DATA, INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS, INCOME GAINS, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME POVERTY, INCOME TRANSFER, INCOMES, INCREASING INEQUALITY, INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES, INEQUALITY, INEQUALITY DECLINES, INEQUALITY DYNAMICS, INEQUALITY MEASURE, INEQUALITY MEASURES, INEQUALITY WILL, INEQUALITY-DEVELOPMENT RELATIONSHIP, INSURANCE, INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTRAHOUSEHOLD INEQUALITY, LABOR MARKET, LAND INEQUALITY, LONG RUN, LONG-RUN PERSPECTIVE, LOWERING GROWTH RATES, MARKET FAILURES, MEAN DIFFERENCES, MEAN INCOME, MEASURED INEQUALITY, MEASURING INCOME INEQUALITY, MICRO DATA, MINIMUM LEVEL, MORAL HAZARD, MORTALITY RATES, NATIONAL POVERTY, NATURAL RESOURCES, NEGATIVE EFFECT, NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP, NEW GROWTH THEORIES, OLD ISSUES, OPEN ECONOMIES, POINT ESTIMATES, POLICY CHANGES, POLICY INSTRUMENT, POLICY MAKERS, POLICY MAKING, POLICY MEASURES, POLICY PACKAGE, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY VARIABLES, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POOR, POOR COUNTRIES, POOR PEOPLE, POOR POPULATION, POPULATION GROWTH, POSITIVE EFFECT, POSITIVE ROLE, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POVERTY ANALYSIS, POVERTY DATA, POVERTY DEBATE, POVERTY DECLINE, POVERTY DECLINES, POVERTY DYNAMICS, POVERTY INCREASE, POVERTY INDICES, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY LINES, POVERTY MEASURE, POVERTY MEASUREMENT, POVERTY MEASURES, POVERTY OUTCOMES, POVERTY RATES, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY-REDUCING IMPACT, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRO POOR, PRO POOR GROWTH, PUBLIC ECONOMICS, PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, PUBLIC GOODS, PUBLIC WORKS, RAPID GROWTH, REAL INCOME, REDISTRIBUTIVE MEASURES, REDUCED POVERTY, REGIONAL INEQUALITY, RELATIVE INEQUALITY, RICH COUNTRIES, RISING INEQUALITY, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL EMPLOYMENT, RURAL POOR, SAFETY NETS, SANITATION, SAVING RATE, SAVINGS, SERIES DATA, SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP, SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL CONFLICT, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL POLICY, TARGETING, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE OPENNESS, TRADE POLICY, TRANSITION ECONOMIES, UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION, WELL-BEING,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/262481468331170974/Globalization-growth-and-distribution-framing-the-questions http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28017
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