The present study investigates the trends in inequality, welfare, and growth based on per capita household income/consumption in Pakistan, both its rural and urban areas, from 1963-64 to 2004-05. It employs Gini coefficient to measure inequalities and the Sen welfare index to estimate welfare....

Is household income enough for human development or should government direct resources towards the provision of social services to improve capabilities of individuals? The former is emphasised by the World Bank, and the latter by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP). This paper tests...

The economy of Orissa has been lagging behind the national economy by several decades. Its per capita net state domestic product, a measure of average income, stood at Rs.20200 for 2006-07 which falls behind the national average by about 35 per cent. Moreover, the gross domestic product of the...

In the wake of the economic reform programme undertaken since 1991, distributional issues have received considerable attention and policy concern. In pursuit of such concerns, the government has worked out an approach to the Eleventh Five Year Plan, which lays emphasis on, though without...

Gender Development Index and Gender Empowerment Measure are two gender-based indicators provided by the United Nations Development Program. Population share of the genders enter the formulation of these indicators in such a way that it favours the better performing gender. This can lead to...

The popularly known Human Development Index (HDI) is obtained through linear averaging (LA) of indices in three dimensions - health, education and standard of living. LA method assumes perfect substitutability among the indices. We question its appropriateness and propose an alternative measure,...

We impose a value judgment that a decrease in failure should be accompanied by a decrease in gap (difference or ratio) between sub-groups. In other words, the same gap at lower levels of failure is to be considered worse off. This, in line with transfer sensitivity axiom of poverty indices, is...

Using Minkowski distance function we propose a class of Human Development Index measures. Special cases of this turn out to be the popularly used linear average method as also a newly proposed displaced ideal method. Two measures of penalty are suggested. One captures the non-uniform attainment...

This paper looks at the recent trends of rising inequality in developing Asia, asks why inequality matters, examines the driving forces of rising inequality, and proposes policy options for tackling high and rising inequality. Technological change, globalization, and market-oriented reform have...

This paper looks at the recent trends of rising inequality in developing Asia, asks why inequality matters, examines the driving forces of rising inequality, and proposes policy options for tackling high and rising inequality. Technological change, globalization, and market-oriented reform have...