Imagine there's no country : poverty, inequality, and growth in the era of globalization / Surjit S. Bhalla.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bhalla, Surjit S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Poverty.

Income distribution.

Globalization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (277 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Institute for International Economics, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A new era of globalization, which began in the 1980s, brought about a significant decline in costs of transportation, communication, and production; considerably improved intercountry competitiveness; and broke down trade and cultural barriers among countries. The concept of a sovereign nation has been increasingly questioned in recent years. Some, indeed, have imagined a world without boundaries, without countries. Others who doubt the benefits of globalization have called for increased protectionism and greater regulation of economic activity. Has globalization made the world grow faster? Has poverty declined at a faster pace during globalization? If yes, why? If not, is it because the growth rate was lower, or because inequality worsened, or both? Who gained from globalization? Was it the elite in both the developed and developing world? What about the middle class? Who are they? How did they benefit from (or lose to) the forces of globalization? This comprehensive study firmly debunks several popular myths such as the belief that globalization has resulted in lower overall growth rates for poor countries, increasing world inequality, and stagnating poverty levels. Through rigorous, integrated methodologies and an enhanced dataset, the author, Surjit Bhalla, answers some of the most pressing policy issues confronting us today.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Section I Received Wisdom on Poverty, Inequality, and Growth

Chapter 1 Overview: New Results on Poverty, Inequality, and the Growth in the Era of Globalization

The Issues

The Framework and the Data

A Bird's Eye View

A More Detailed Overview

Results on Absolute Poverty

Results on Propoor Growth

Has Globalization Worsened Inequality?

Has Globalization Been Good for Poor People?

Research and Monopolies

Chapter 2 The Pattern of Economic Growth 1950-2000

Data and Methods of Estimating Growth

Global Levels of Income and Growth

Globalization: Divergence

Evidence of Convergence or Divergence

Chapter 3 Inequality as We Know It

Measuring Inequality

Measuring Intertemporal Inequality

Simple Inequality Mathematics

Inequality: Kuznets Curve and Data Requirements

Recent Evidence on Country Inequality

The Evidence Once Again

Tests of Inequality Change

Elasticity of Connection, 1960-2000

Country-Level Inequality

Toward Individual Inequality Estimates

Individual Inequality

Summing Up: The Facts as We Know Them

Chapter 4 Poverty as We Are Told It Is

Defining and Measuring Absolute Poverty

Poverty in the United States

The World Bank Enters the Poverty Arena

First Absolute Poverty Line, Estimates, and Forecasts

The Search for an Absolute Absolute Measure

Rediscovering the 1-a-Day Poverty Line

The Poverty Line Reduced

Evolving World Bank Definitions of Poverty

Section II Discussion of Knowledge on Poverty, Inequality, and Growth and Analysis of Data and Methodologies

Chapter 5 Taking Stock of the Facts

The Global Pie, 1960-2000

Inequality Trends

Poverty Trends

Not Propoor Growth

Is the Conventional Wisdom Correct?

Facts and Figures

The Importance of Data.

Duck and Smell Tests to Differeniate

Experts Debate

Elasticity of the Gini with Growth

Poverty "Smell" Tests

The Need for Alternative Studies

Chapter 6 Recounting Poor People

Definitions and Methods

Using Different PPP Exchange Rates

Differences between World Bank Consumption and Official PPPs

All Indians Were Dead in 1950, or 1960

Chapter 7 Surveys and National Accounts: Can a Choice Be Made?

What Is the Problem?

There Is a Problem Even in the United States

In Defense of Surveys

What Happened to the Survey/National Accounts Ratio?

Unintended Consequences of Moving to Survey Means

Do National Accounts Estimates Have Problems?

Choosing between Surveys and National Accounts

By How Much Do Rich People Understate Expenditures?

Estimating Undercoverage of Rich People

The SAP 1.50 Poverty Line

Smell" Tests for Indian Poverty Estimates

Should Surveys or National Accounts Be Used? Or Both?

Chapter 8 Other Methodological Considerations

The Individual versus Countries

Simple Accounting Procedure for Generating W3i

The Kakwani Method of Estimating a Lorenz Curve

Is SAP Accurate?

Using SAP to Identify Errors in Published Ginis

Section III New Results on Poverty, Inequality, and Growth Based on Simple Accounting Procedure Methods

Chapter 9 Poverty as It Is

-and Forecasts for 2015

How Much Poverty Is There in the World?

Where Did Poverty Decline from 1960 to 2000?

The Evolution of World Poverty, 1820-2000

A Digression: How Do You Assess the Best?

Regional Poverty Trends

Time to Raise the Poverty Line

Forecasts for 2000 and 2015

Chapter 10 Reinventing the Kuznets Curve: Propoor Growth

The Search for Propoor Growth

The Growth-Poverty Connection

Propoor Elasticity

Propoor Mathematics

Empirical Estimates of Propoor Growth.

Estimating Propoor Elasticity

Has Global Growth Been Propoor?

Using Consistent Data

Is the Initial Income Distribution Important?

A Simple Method for Estimating Propoor Growth

Forecast of Poverty in 2015

Chapter 11 Inequality as It Is

SAP Results for World Inequality, 1950-2000

Regions and Indices

Individual Inequality Studies Compared

How Accurate Are the SAP Estimates?

Poor People Have a High Elasticity of Connection

The Relationship between Growth and Inequality

The Middle Class

Chapter 12 Globalization: A Second Look

Income: Before and After

Convergence: New Results

Catch-up with Globalization

Is There a Poverty-Terrorism Connection?

The Evolution of Living Standards, 1960-2000

Chapter 13 Conclusion: Roads Not Taken

Different Forks for Different Folks

Answers to Often-Asked Questions

Appendices

Appendix A The Simple Accounting Procedure Dataset

Appendix B Estimation of the Lorenz Curve, and Its Accuracy

How Good Is SAP?

Errors in Survey Inequality Measures

Errors in Published Inequality Data

Appendix C Basic Data for the Simple Accounting Procedure

References

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 225-234) and index.

ISBN:

9786611181710

9781281181718

1281181714

9780881324525

0881324523

OCLC:

290580183