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Removing the anonymity axiom in assessing pro-poor growth

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Michael Grimm () (Universität Göttingen)

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Abstract

The recent focus on ‘pro-poor growth’ led also to an intense debate on how exactly to define and to measure pro-poor growth. However, all suggested measures, irrespective whether they use the absolute or the relative definition of pro-poor growth have in common that they are based on the anonymity axiom, i.e. they do not distinguish between changes in horizontal and vertical inequality. That means usual assessments of pro-poor growth look at distributional changes over time and ignore how specific groups or households moved. Such a perspective may provide a very incomplete picture given that the common objective of most studies investigating the pro-poorness of growth is to test whether specific policy reforms where beneficial to the initially poor or not. Using panel data from Indonesia and Peru, this paper analyzes and illustrates empirically the implications of removing the anonymity axiom from measurements of pro-poor growth. It is shown that postulating anonymity, when assessing pro-poor growth can lead to misleading conclusions on how a specific policy affected the incomes of the initially poor. For both countries, the analysis shows substantial convergence to the mean, which is, at least for the case of Indonesia, robust to measurement error in the expenditure data.

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Paper provided by Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research in its series Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers with number 113.

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Length: 30 pages
Date of creation: 14 Jul 2005
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Handle: RePEc:got:iaidps:113

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Related research
Keywords: Anonymity axiom; pro-poor growth; income mobility; horizontal equity; inequality; decomposition;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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References listed on IDEAS
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Johannes Gräb & Michael Grimm, 2007. "Robust Multiperiod Poverty Comparisons," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 725, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Melanie Grosse & Kenneth Harttgen & Stephan Klasen, 2006. "Measuring Pro-Poor Progress towards the Non-Income Millennium Development Goals," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 144, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jean-Yves Duclos, 2006. "Equity and Equality," IZA Discussion Papers 2284, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Kenneth Hartgen & Stephan Klasen & Mark Misselhorn, 2009. "Pro-Poor Progress in Education in Developing Countries?," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 8, Courant Research Centre PEG. [Downloadable!]
  5. Hugo Ñopo & Giorgina Pizzolitto & José Cuesta, 2007. "Using Pseudo-Panels to Measure Income Mobility in Latin America," RES Working Papers 4557, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  6. Klasen, Stephan & Günther, Isabel, 2007. "Measuring Chronic Non-Income Poverty," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Göttingen 2007 10, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Jean-Pierre Lachaud, 2006. "La croissance pro-pauvres au Burkina Faso. L’éviction partielle de l’axiome d’anonymat en présence de données transversales," Documents de travail 126, Groupe d'Economie du Développement de l'Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV. [Downloadable!]
  8. Johannes Gräb & Michael Grimm, 2007. "Robust Multiperiod Poverty Comparisons," Working Papers DT/2007/12, DIAL (Développement, Institutions & Analyses de Long terme). [Downloadable!]
  9. Hugo Ñopo & Giorgina Pizzolitto & José Cuesta, 2007. "Usando pseudopaneles para medir la movilidad del ingreso en América," RES Working Papers 4558, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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