DOCSLIB.ORG

Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal: Complementarities, Tensions and the Way Forward*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal: Complementarities, Tensions and the Way Forward* Q-Squared - Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal: Complementarities, Tensions and the Way Forward* Ravi Kanbur (Editor) Cornell University Email: [email protected] With Contributions by: Ravi Kanbur Robert Chambers Patti Petesch Norman Uphoff Martin Ravallion Francois Bourguignon David Sahn Caroline Moser Christopher Barrett David Booth Vijayendra Rao Luc Christiaensen Jesko Hentschel Paul Shaffer Rosemary McGee Ronald Herring Gary Fields Alex Wilks Erik Thorbecke Q-Squared Working Paper No. 1 October 2005 * This volume originally appeared as: Cornell University Applied Economics and Management Working Paper 2001-05, May, 2001. Q-squared • Centre For International Studies • University Of Toronto 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto ON M5S 3K7 Canada t: 416-885-7721 • f: 416-652-1678 • e: [email protected] CONTENTS Q-SQUARED? A COMMENTARY ON QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE POVERTY APPRAISAL RAVI KANBUR 1 QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE POVERTY APPRAISAL: THE STATE OF PLAY AND SOME QUESTIONS RAVI KANBUR 16 QUALITATIVE APPROACHES: SELF CRITICISM AND WHAT CAN BE GAINED FROM QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES ROBERT CHAMBERS 21 THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS? ROBERT CHAMBERS 25 SELF-CRITICISM AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE WAY TO FINISHING VOICES OF THE POOR: FROM MANY LANDS PATTI PETESCH 29 BRIDGING QUANTITATIVE-QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN POVERTY APPRAISAL: SELF-CRITICAL THOUGHTS ON QUALITATIVE APPROACHES NORMAN UPHOFF 32 CAN QUALITATIVE METHODS HELP QUANTITATIVE POVERTY MEASUREMENT? MARTIN RAVALLION 37 QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES TO POVERTY ANALYSIS: TWO PICTURES OF THE SAME MOUNTAIN? FRANCOIS BOURGUIGNON 43 STRENGTHENING QUANTITATIVE METHODS THROUGH INCORPORATING QUALITATIVE INFORMATION DAVID E. SAHN 46 ‘APT ILLUSTRATION’ OR ‘ANECDOTAL INFORMATION?’ CAN QUALITATIVE DATA BE REPRESENTATIVE OR ROBUST? CAROLINE MOSER 51 INTEGRATING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES: LESSONS FROM THE PASTORAL RISK MANAGEMENT PROJECT CHRIS BARRETT 55 TOWARDS A BETTER COMBINATION OF THE QUANTITATIVE AND THE QUALITATIVE: SOME DESIGN ISSUES FROM PAKISTAN’S PARTICIPATORY POVERTY ASSESSMENT DAVID BOOTH 59 POTTERS AND SLUMS: TWO QUALITATIVE/QUANTITATIVE PROJECTS IN INDIA VIJAYENDRA RAO 64 THE QUAL-QUANT DEBATE WITHIN ITS EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONTEXT: SOME PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS LUC CHRISTIAENSEN 69 INTEGRATING THE QUAL AND THE QUAN: WHEN AND WHY? JESKO HENTSCHEL74 DIFFICULTIES IN COMBINING INCOME/CONSUMPTION AND PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES TO POVERTY: ISSUES AND EXAMPLES PAUL SHAFFER 79 QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE POVERTY APPRAISAL WORKSHOP: SOME REFLECTIONS AND RESPONSES ROSEMARY MCGEE 84 i WHAT IS REQUIRED TO REDUCE TENSIONS AND INCREASE COMPLEMENTARITY? ROSEMARY MCGEE 88 DATA AS SOCIAL PRODUCT: PROBLEMS IN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE WORK RON HERRING 90 THE EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM IN SOUTH AFRICA: FROM COINTEGRATION TO MR. ISAACS GARY S. FIELDS 94 POVERTY RESEARCH: EXTRACTIVE OR EMPOWERING? ALEX WILKS 98 TENSIONS, COMPLEMENTARITIES AND POSSIBLE CONVERGENCE BETWEEN THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES TO POVERTY ASSESSMENT ERIK THORBECKE 102 ii Q-SQUARED? A Commentary on Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal Ravi Kanbur Cornell University April 2001 SUMMARY This compilation brings together the proceedings of a workshop on “Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal: Complementarities, Tensions and the Way Forward.” Contributors were asked to submit short summaries of their positions, with detailed references to the literature as necessary. The compilation represents a remarkable statement of the state of the art and the debate on “Qual-Quant”, at a time when the complementarities between the qualitative and the quantitative traditions in poverty analysis are being recognized, but the tensions are ever present, and analysts and policy makers are looking for a way forward in using the two approaches to design effective poverty reduction strategies. The workshop spent a fair amount of time characterizing the two traditions along different dimensions, with (at least) the following five dimensions being identified: 1. Type of Information on Population: Non-Numerical to Numerical. 2. Type of Population Coverage: Specific to General. 3. Type of Population Involvement: Active to Passive. 4. Type of Inference Methodology: Inductive to Deductive. 5. Type of Disciplinary Framework: Broad Social Sciences to Neo-Classical Economics Different contributors collapsed these dimensions in different ways, and used different sets of terminology. But there seems agreement that points more to the “left” in the above spectra are more “qualitative” in nature, while those more to the “right” are “quantitative”. Some participants pronounced themselves to be in the “extreme center”. What is important, it was generally agreed, are the strengths and weaknesses of locating at different points along these dimensions, for the purpose at hand. It was recognized that there are indeed strengths and weaknesses at each end of a given spectrum. Numerical information can be more easily aggregated, but it can miss out on nuance and texture. General coverage aids representativeness, but can lose context. Q-squared • Centre For International Studies • University Of Toronto 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto ON M5S 3K7 Canada t: 416-885-7721 • f: 416-652-1678 • e: [email protected] Statistical inference can help in discussion of causality, but misses out on the power of inductive approaches. And so on. The key, then, is how to make the best of complementarities while minimizing tradeoffs. There was general support in the workshop for “small movements” from either extreme of any of the five dimensions. The support was strongest, almost universal, for the first two dimensions. For example, those in the qualitative tradition agreed that some numerical information could and should be collected in participatory poverty appraisal (PPA). There was also agreement (less strong) that the credibility of qualitative studies with policy makers and others would be greater if site selection could be put into a sampling frame – preferably, the same sampling frame as for a nationally representative household survey. The PPA exercise, for example, could be done on the site using its characteristic methodology as before, but the results could now be situated in a broader context. By the same token, those in the quantitative tradition agreed that the introduction of more subjective and open ended questions in a standard household survey could in fact provide a better handle on defining and measuring poverty even in standard income/consumption terms. Moreover, initial participatory exercises could suggest questions for inclusion in the standardized surveys. However, it was also recognized that there were limits to how much of such “simultaneous mixing” could be done without losing the essence and the strengths of either end of the spectrum in question. In any event, such mixing was more possible for some dimensions than others – the workshop did not have as many useful suggestions for mixing along dimensions 4 and 5 above, for example. In view of this, the issue arose of “sequential mixing”, where each end of the spectrum is called upon to do its best, and the integration takes place between the results of the two approaches so devised. It was recognized that this was difficult, not least because of disciplinary divides in dimension 5. Moreover, such mixing would require institutional arrangements to take account of the current dominance of the quantitative approach in policy-making circles. Relatedly, those in the qualitative tradition were more concerned about the ethics of doing research on poor populations with no direct benefit to the poor themselves (and considerable benefit to the researchers). They emphasized the importance of communicating research findings back to the poor, in a language they could understand. These issues were not on the agenda of those in the quantitative tradition, whose rationale is more that if research influences policy directly or indirectly and thus helps the poor in turn, then it is worthwhile. It was generally agreed that this first Qual-Quant workshop was hugely successful in what it did. But we have probably got as far as we can at this level of generality. An interesting dialogue has been opened up among some of the leading practitioners from both traditions. The next step should be to get more specific, focusing in greater detail on particular case studies of simultaneous or sequential mixing, to understand in greater depth the strengths and weaknesses of different points along the five dimensions identified above, and complementarities and tensions in mixing them. 2 I. INTRODUCTION Poverty analysts in the “Qualitative” and in the “Quantitative” traditions have been highly active in the policy debates of the past decade. While quantitative approaches have been dominant, especially in policy-making circles, the use of qualitative approaches has been increasing. Many bilateral and multilateral agencies now routinely commission studies in this tradition. There have also been increasing attempts at integrating the two approaches. But systematic attempts have been few, and successes have been even fewer. While there is a general acceptance, at least at the level of rhetoric, of the obvious complementarities between the two approaches, the tensions are more than apparent. The situation has undoubtedly improved compared to a decade ago, but practitioners in the two traditions still seem to inhabit unconnected worlds, with their own conferences, their own academic journals, and separate
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Capability Approach an Interdisciplinary Introduction
    The Capability Approach An Interdisciplinary Introduction Ingrid Robeyns Version August 14th, 2017 Draft Book Manuscript Not for further circulation, please. Revising will start on September 22nd, 2017. Comments welcome, E: [email protected] 1 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 Why the capability approach? ................................................................................. 5 1.2 The worries of the sceptics ....................................................................................... 7 1.3 A yardstick for the evaluation of prosperity and progress ........................... 9 1.4 Scope and development of the capability approach ...................................... 13 1.5 A guide to the reader ................................................................................................ 16 2 Core ideas and the framework .......................................................................... 18 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 18 2.2 A preliminary definition of the capability approach ..................................... 20 2.3 The capability approach versus capability theories ...................................... 24 2.4 The many modes of capability analysis ............................................................. 26 2.5 The modular view of the capability approach ................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Martin Ravallion
    Working Paper Series Are the world's poorest being left behind? Martin Ravallion ECINEQ WP 2015 - 369 ECINEQ 2015 - 369 July 2015 www.ecineq.org Are the world's poorest being left behind?∗ Martin Ravalliony Georgetown University and NBER, U.S.A. Abstract Traditional assessments of economic growth and progress against poverty put little or no weight on increasing the standard of living of the poorest|raising the floor for permanent consumption above the biological minimum. Yet raising the floor is often emphasized by policy makers, moral philosophers and social choice theorists. To address this deficiency, the paper defines and measures the expected value of the floor as a weighted mean of observed consumptions for the poorest stratum. Using data for the developing world over 1981-2011, the estimated floor is about half the $1.25 a day poverty line. Economic growth and social policies have delivered only modest progress in raising the floor, despite progress in reducing the number living near the floor. Keywords: Poverty, consumption floor, Rawls, growth, safety-nets. JEL Classification: I32, I38, O15. ∗For helpful discussions on the topic of this paper and comments on the paper the author is grateful to Francois Bourguignon, Mary Ann Bronson, Cait Brown, Shaohua Chen, Denis Cogneau, Garance Genicot, Peter Lanjouw, Nkunde Mwase, Henry Richardson, Dominique van de Walle and seminar participants at the International Monetary Fund, the Paris School of Economics, the International Labour Organization and the University of Antwerp. yContact details: Department of Economics, Georgetown University, and NBER, Washington DC., 20057, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Issues in Measuring and Modeling Poverty
    UMS165I POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER 1615 Issues in Measuring An extended comment on current practicesin poverty and Modeling Poverty analysis."Mainstream" or even "ideal' current practicesand pressing issuesare discussed Martin Ravallion o he rns on three fronts'. * measurementsof poverty • models of poverty * and data needs. The World Bank PolicyResearch Department Poverty and Human ResourcesDivision June 1996 Poi-ic RESEARCH WORKING PAPER 1615 Summary findings In their research and policy advice related to poverty and It also has implications for the types of models that inequality, says Ravallion,economists have relied heavily on are used to understand the processes that determine household incomiiesor expenditures normalized for poverty and inequality. Not only will there be more differencesin household-specificprices and demographics. dependent variables to consider, but there will also he There are some theoretically sophisticated implementations some potentially complex relationships among of such measures, aimed at deriving "money-metric utility," variables. Low income, for example, is likely to be both although that term is alnost absurdly boastful given how it a cause and an effect of poor health and schooling. The is implemented. BIutrccognizing the conceptual and prospects of escaping poverty may depend greatly on empirical problems that confoutid such measures does not characteristics of the individual, the household, and the mean thar thev should he ignored. Instead, it points to the community. need for supplementary measures to capture the things that These relationships will often be difficult to are missing,including (typically)intrahouselhold inequalities disentangle empirically, although richer integrated and accessto nonmarket goods. and longitudinal data sets offer hopes of doing so.
    [Show full text]
  • Should the Randomistas (Continue To) Rule?
    Should the Randomistas (Continue to) Rule? Martin Ravallion Abstract The rising popularity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development applications has come with continuing debates on the pros and cons of this approach. The paper revisits the issues. While RCTs have a place in the toolkit for impact evaluation, an unconditional preference for RCTs as the “gold standard” is questionable. The statistical case is unclear on a priori grounds; a stronger ethical defense is often called for; and there is a risk of distorting the evidence-base for informing policymaking. Going forward, pressing knowledge gaps should drive the questions asked and how they are answered, not the methodological preferences of some researchers. The gold standard is the best method for the question at hand. Keywords: Randomized controlled trials, bias, ethics, external validity, ethics, development policy JEL: B23, H43, O22 Working Paper 492 August 2018 www.cgdev.org Should the Randomistas (Continue to) Rule? Martin Ravallion Department of Economics, Georgetown University François Roubaud encouraged the author to write this paper. For comments the author is grateful to Sarah Baird, Mary Ann Bronson, Caitlin Brown, Kevin Donovan, Markus Goldstein, Miguel Hernan, Emmanuel Jimenez, Madhulika Khanna, Nishtha Kochhar, Andrew Leigh, David McKenzie, Berk Özler, Dina Pomeranz, Lant Pritchett, Milan Thomas, Vinod Thomas, Eva Vivalt, Dominique van de Walle and Andrew Zeitlin. Staff of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation kindly provided an update to their database on published impact evaluations and helped with the author’s questions. Martin Ravallion, 2018. “Should the Randomistas (Continue to) Rule?.” CGD Working Paper 492. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Development Economics: We Shall Experiment, but How Shall We Learn?
    Faculty Research Working Papers Series The New Development Economics: We Shall Experiment, but How Shall We Learn? Dani Rodrik John F. Kennedy School of Government - Harvard University October 2008 RWP08-055 The views expressed in the HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the John F. Kennedy School of Government or of Harvard University. Faculty Research Working Papers have not undergone formal review and approval. Such papers are included in this series to elicit feedback and to encourage debate on important public policy challenges. Copyright belongs to the author(s). Papers may be downloaded for personal use only. THE NEW DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS: WE SHALL EXPERIMENT, BUT HOW SHALL WE LEARN?* Dani Rodrik John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Revised Draft July 2008 ABSTRACT Development economics is split between macro-development economists—who focus on economic growth, international trade, and fiscal/macro policies—and micro-development economists—who study microfinance, education, health, and other social programs. Recently there has been substantial convergence in the policy mindset exhibited by micro evaluation enthusiasts, on the one hand, and growth diagnosticians, on the other. At the same time, the randomized evaluation revolution has led to an accentuation of the methodological divergence between the two camps. Overcoming the split requires changes on both sides. Macro- development economists need to recognize the distinct advantages of the experimental approach and adopt the policy mindset of the randomized evaluation enthusiasts. Micro-development economists, for their part, have to recognize that the utility of randomized evaluations is restricted by the narrow and limited scope of their application.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case for Cross-Disciplinary Approaches in International Development
    Working Paper Series ISSN 1470-2320 2002 No. 02-23 THE CASE FOR CROSS-DISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Prof. John Harriss Published: February 2002 Development Studies Institute London School of Economics and Political Science Houghton Street Tel: +44 (020) 7955-7425 London Fax: +44 (020) 7955-6844 WC2A 2AE UK Email: [email protected] Web site: www.lse.ac.uk/depts/destin The London School of Economics is a School of the University of London. It is a charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act (Reg. No. 70527). THE CASE FOR CROSS-DISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTi John Harriss ( LSE) Introduction: ‘Saving Disciplines from Themselves’ The English word ‘discipline’ derives from the Latin ‘disciplus’, which means ‘disciple’, and it was used at an early stage in the development of the language to refer to “the training of scholars and subordinates [disciples in other words] to proper conduct and action by instructing and exercising them in the same” (OED). ‘Discipline’ has the meaning, too, of “a system of rules for conduct”, as well as of “the order maintained among persons under control or command” or “a trained condition”; and, relatedly, it has the further sense of ‘correction’ or ‘chastisement’, intended (clearly) to maintain the ‘order’ and ‘proper conduct and action’ that are intrinsic to what ‘discipline’ is understood to be. It is helpful, I believe, to reflect upon these meanings of the term ‘discipline’ when we come to consider its use, also, in the academy to refer to a ‘branch of instruction’ or a ‘department of knowledge’.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward Better Global Poverty Measures Martin Ravallion
    Toward Better Global Poverty Measures Martin Ravallion Abstract While much progress has been made over the last 25 years in measuring global poverty, there are a number of challenges ahead. The paper discusses three sets of problems: (i) how to allow for social effects on welfare, recognizing the identification issues involved; (ii) the need to monitor progress in raising the consumption floor above its biological level, in addition to counting the number of people living near the floor; and (iii) addressing the longstanding concerns about prevailing approaches to making inter-country comparisons of price levels facing poor people. Some suggestions are offered for operational solutions, building on past research. JEL Codes: I32, E31, O10 Keywords: Absolute poverty, relative poverty, consumption floor, Purchasing Power Parity, International Comparison Program. Working Paper 417 www.cgdev.org September 2015 Toward Better Global Poverty Measures Martin Ravallion Department of Economics, Georgetown University The author is grateful to Nora Lustig and Jacques Silber for encouraging him to write this paper. For helpful comments the author is grateful to Caitlin Brown, Shaohua Chen, Yuri Dikhanov, John Gibson, Stephan Klasen, Ranjan Ray and Dominique van de Walle. Martin Ravallion. 2015. "Toward Better Global Poverty Measures." CGD Working Paper 417. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development. http://www.cgdev.org/publication/toward-better-global-poverty-measures-working- paper-417 Center for Global Development The Center for Global Development is an independent, nonprofit policy 2055 L Street NW research organization dedicated to reducing global poverty and inequality Washington, DC 20036 and to making globalization work for the poor. Use and dissemination of this Working Paper is encouraged; however, reproduced copies may not be 202.416.4000 used for commercial purposes.
    [Show full text]
  • Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: the Capability Approach Re-Examined
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Robeyns, Ingrid Book — Published Version Wellbeing, freedom and social justice: The capability approach re-examined Provided in Cooperation with: Open Book Publishers Suggested Citation: Robeyns, Ingrid (2017) : Wellbeing, freedom and social justice: The capability approach re-examined, ISBN 978-1-78374-459-6, Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, http://dx.doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0130 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/182376 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ www.econstor.eu Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice The Capability Approach Re-Examined INGRID ROBEYNS To access digital resources including: blog posts videos online appendices and to purchase copies of this book in: hardback paperback ebook editions Go to: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/682 Open Book Publishers is a non-profit independent initiative.
    [Show full text]
  • Cornell University
    April 2020 ESWAR S. PRASAD Nandlal P. Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy & Professor of Economics Cornell University Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management 301A Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853 Email: eswar [dot] prasad [at] cornell [dot] edu Website: http://prasad.dyson.cornell.edu Concurrent Positions and Affiliations Professor of Economics, Cornell University (joint appt. with Department of Economics) Senior Fellow and New Century Chair in International Economics, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA Research Fellow, IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor), Bonn, Germany Founding Fellow, Emerging Markets Institute, Johnson School of Business, Cornell University Education Ph.D., Economics, University of Chicago, 1992 Thesis: “Employment, Wage, and Productivity Dynamics in an Equilibrium Business Cycle Model with Heterogeneous Labor” Supervised by Professors Robert E. Lucas, Jr., Robert M. Townsend and Michael Woodford M.A., Economics, Brown University, 1986 B.A., Economics, Mathematics, and Statistics, University of Madras, 1985 Employment Senior Fellow and New Century Chair, Brookings Institution, 2008-present Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy, Cornell University, 2007-present Division Chief, Financial Studies Division, Research Department, IMF, 2005-2006 Division Chief, China Division, Asia and Pacific Department, IMF, 2002-2004 Economist (1990-1998), Senior Economist (1998-2000), Assistant to the Director (2000- 2002), IMF Professional Experience Head of IMF’s China Division (2002-2004) and Financial Studies Division (2005-2006). Mission Chief for IMF Article IV Consultation missions to Myanmar (2002) and Hong Kong (2003-04). Member of the analytical team for the High-Level Committee on Financial Sector - 2 - Reforms appointed by the Planning Commission, Government of India, 2007-08 (Chairman: Raghuram Rajan).
    [Show full text]
  • Discussion Paper No. 2004/01 Spatial Decomposition of Inequality
    Discussion Paper No. 2004/01 Spatial Decomposition of Inequality Anthony Shorrocks and Guanghua Wan* January 2004 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. Keywords: inequality, index, decomposition JEL classification: C43, D31, D63, R12 Copyright ¤ UNU-WIDER 2004 * UNU-WIDER, Helsinki. This is a revised version of a paper presented at the UNU-WIDER Conference Inequality, Poverty and Human Well-being, May 2003 in Helsinki. It has been prepared within the UNU-WIDER project on Spatial Disparities in Human Development, directed by Ravi Kanbur and Tony Venables, with Guanghua Wan. UNU-WIDER gratefully acknowledges the financial contributions to the 2002-2003 research programme by the governments of Denmark (Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Finland (Ministry for Foreign Affairs), Norway (Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Sweden (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency—Sida) and the United Kingdom (Department for International Development). The World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) was established by the United Nations University (UNU) as its first research and training centre and started work in Helsinki, Finland in 1985. The Institute undertakes applied research and policy analysis on structural changes affecting the developing and transitional economies, provides a forum for the advocacy of policies leading to robust, equitable and environmentally sustainable growth, and promotes capacity strengthening and training in the field of economic and social policy-making. Work is carried out by staff researchers and visiting scholars in Helsinki and through networks of collaborating scholars and institutions around the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Poverty and Inequality: Concepts and Trends 1
    Poverty and Conflict: The Inequality Link Coping with Crisis Working Paper Series Ravi Kanbur June 2007 International Peace Academy About the Author Ravi Kanbur is T. H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, and Professor of Economics at Cornell University. He has taught at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Essex, Warwick, Princeton, and Columbia. Dr. Kanbur has also served on the staff of the World Bank, as Economic Adviser, Senior Economic Adviser, Resident Representative in Ghana, Chief Economist of the African Region of the World Bank, and Principal Adviser to the Chief Economist of the World Bank. Dr. Kanbur's main areas of interest are public economics and development economics. His work spans conceptual, empirical, and policy analysis. Acknowledgements IPA owes a great debt of thanks to its many donors to Coping with Crisis. Their support for this Program reflects a widespread demand for innovative thinking on practical solutions to international challenges. In particular, IPA is grateful to the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This Working Papers Series would also not have been possible without the support of the Greentree Foundation, which generously allowed IPA the use of the Whitney family’s Greentree Estate for a meeting of the authors of these papers at a crucial moment in their development in October 2006. Cover Photo: Women and children stand on a riverbank near a chemical plant in Mumbai, India.©Rob Lettieri/Corbis. The views expressed in this paper represent those of the author and not necessarily those of IPA.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 HDR Advisory Panel Members
    2020 HDR Advisory Panel members No Name Title, Institution 1 Tharman Shanmugaratnam Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Singapore (Co-chair) 2 A. Michael Spence William Berkley Professor in Economics and Business, Leonard Stern School of Business, New York University, United States (Co-chair) 3 Olu Ajakaiye Executive Chairman, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building, Nigeria 4 Kaushik Basu Professor of International Studies, Cornell University; President of the International Economic Association and former Chief Economist, World Bank 5 Haroon Bhorat Professor of Economics, Director of Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa 6 Laura Chinchilla Miranda President of Costa Rica (2010-2014) and Vice President of the World Leadership Alliance - Club de Madrid, Spain 7 Gretchen C. Daily Director, Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, United States 8 Marc Fleurbaey Professor of Economics and Humanistic Studies, Center for Human Values, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, United States 9 Xiheng Jiang Vice President, Center for International Knowledge on Development, China 10 Ravi Kanbur Professor of Economics and Management, Cornell University, United States 11 Jaya Krishnakumar Professor of Economics and Econometrics, University of Geneva, Switzerland 12 Melissa Leach Director, Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom 13 Thomas Piketty Professor at the Paris School of Economics and Co-Director, World
    [Show full text]