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Trade, Income Distribution And Poverty In Developing Countries: A Survey

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  • Amelia U. Santos-Paulino

Abstract

The paper surveys the theoretical and empirical research on how trade and trade liberalization affect poverty and income distribution. The impact of globalization on poverty reduction has been uneven but the findings in the literature are sensitive to modelling choices. Trade liberalization improves aggregate welfare but the gains are small and unequally distributed. The welfare effects are measured basically through price changes, focusing on the effect on the relative demand for domestic factors of production and, in particular, the demand for skilled relative to unskilled labour. The literature shows that poverty constraints originate from various sources including infrastructure, skills, incomplete markets, and policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Amelia U. Santos-Paulino, 2012. "Trade, Income Distribution And Poverty In Developing Countries: A Survey," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 207, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
  • Handle: RePEc:unc:dispap:207
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    2. James Nyarkoh, Bright, 2017. "Modelling Trade Liberalisation-Poverty Nexus for Ghana," MPRA Paper 76209, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Britz, Wolfgang & Jafari, Yaghoob & Nekhay, Olexandr & Roson, Roberto, 2022. "Assessing inequality and poverty in long-term growth projections: A general equilibrium analysis for six developing countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Allah Ditta & Muhammad Ayub & Kashif Raza & Salyha Zulfiqar Ali Shah, 2021. "Environmental Impact of Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan," iRASD Journal of Economics, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 3(3), pages 305-317, December.
    5. Kazuhiro Kumo & Alexandra Koval & Irina Korgun & Olga Trofimenko, 2018. "Foreign Trade and Regional Inequality:The Case of the Russian Federation," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(3), pages 884-895.
    6. Henri ATANGANA ONDOA, 2019. "Education and wage inequality in the informal sector: The case of Cameroon," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(3), pages 561-576, September.
    7. Wolfgang Britz & Yaghoob Jafari & Alexandr Nekhay & Roberto Roson, 2020. "Modeling Trade and Income Distribution in Six Developing Countries A dynamic general equilibrium analysis up to the year 2050," Working Papers 2020:03, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    8. Amèvi Rocard Kouwoaye, 2019. "Trade tax reforms and poverty in developing countries: Why do some countries benefit and others lose?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-66, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Karluk, S. Rıdvan & Unal, Umut, 2017. "Türkiye Ekonomisinde Yoksulluk, Yolsuzluk ve Gelir Dağılımı İlişkisi [Income Distribution, Poverty and Corruption in Turkey]," MPRA Paper 70118, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Mahadevan, Renuka & Nugroho, Anda & Amir, Hidayat, 2017. "Do inward looking trade policies affect poverty and income inequality? Evidence from Indonesia's recent wave of rising protectionism," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 23-34.
    11. Erik Figueiredo & Márcio P. Laurini, 2016. "Poverty Elasticity: A Note on a New Empirical Approach," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(2), pages 394-401, June.

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