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On Measuring Aggregate "Social Efficiency" / Martin Ravallion.

World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (formerly "World Bank E-Library Publications") Available online

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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Ravallion, Martin, author.
Series:
Policy research working papers ; Volume 3166.
Policy research working paper ; Volume 3166
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Quality of life--Cross-cultural studies.
Quality of life.
Social indicators--Cross-cultural studies.
Social indicators.
Life expectancy--Cross-cultural studies.
Life expectancy.
Physical Description:
1 online resource (29 pages).
Other Title:
Policy research working paper vol. 3166
Place of Publication:
Washington, DC : World Bank, 2003.
Summary:
Cross-country comparisons of social indicators controlling for income and/or social spending have been widely used to measure and explain "social efficiency" analogously to "technical efficiency" in production. Ravallion argues that these methods are clouded in ambiguities about what exactly is being measured. Standard methods of measuring technical efficiency require assumptions that seem unlikely to hold for social indicators. In the context of a simple parametric model of life expectancy, conditions are identified under which there will be a systematic pattern of bias in estimates of efficient health spending. This paper--a product of the Poverty Team, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to assess the reliability of empirical methods used to inform policy debates.
Notes:
Description based on print version record.
Includes bibliographical references.
Publisher Number:
10.1596/1813-9450-3166

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