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Poor Results and Poorer Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Estimates of Global Inequality and Poverty

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  • Surjit S. Bhalla

Abstract

This paper examines the data and methods used to estimate world inequality and world poverty since 1950. It was found that regardless of method used, world inequality reversed a more than a century old trend during the globalization period, loosely defined as the post 1980 years. Consumption growth of the poor also accelerated during globalization, and such growth was in excess of that of the average person. Poverty declined at close to 1.5 percentage points a year, a statistic not affected much by use of different PPP data, or use of different methods, including the method adopted by the official "keeper" of world poverty statistics, the World Bank. Indeed, a striking result obtained is that world poverty, according to the World Bank method, data, and definitions, was close to 15 percent in 2002, a level that is meant to be the millennium development goal target for 2015. (JEL O15, O20, O47,O5)

Suggested Citation

  • Surjit S. Bhalla, 2004. "Poor Results and Poorer Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Estimates of Global Inequality and Poverty," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 50(1), pages 85-132.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cesifo:v:50:y:2004:i:1:p:85-132.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cesifo/50.1.85
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephan Klasen & Tatyana Krivobokova & Friederike Greb & Rahul Lahoti & Syamsul Hidayat Pasaribu & Manuel Wiesenfarth, 2016. "International income poverty measurement: which way now?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(2), pages 199-225, June.
    2. Kenneth Harttgen & Stephan Klasen & Sebastian Vollmer, 2013. "An African Growth Miracle? Or: What do Asset Indices Tell Us About Trends in Economic Performance?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59, pages 37-61, October.
    3. Edward, Peter, 2006. "Examining Inequality: Who Really Benefits from Global Growth?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1667-1695, October.
    4. Stephan Klasen, 2006. "Armutsreduzierung im Zeitalter der Globalisierung," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 146, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Marinko Škare & Romina Pržiklas Družeta, 2014. "Constructing Official Poverty Lines for Countries in Transition – Beyond the Poverty Line (2000-2010)," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 16(35), pages 368-368, February.
    6. Pierre‐Richard Agénor, 2005. "The Macroeconomics Of Poverty Reduction," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 73(4), pages 369-434, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies

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