"Keefer proposes a new approach to explain why the costs of crisis are greater in some countries than in others. He begins with the premise that many crises result from the willingness of politicians to cater to special interests at the expense of broad social interests. A parsimonious model...

"Just as equality of opportunity becomes an increasingly prominent concept in normative economics, the authors argue that it is also a relevant concept for positive models of the links between distribution and aggregate efficiency. Persuasive microeconomic evidence suggests that inequalities in...

"An apparent temporary narrowing of income inequality has been observed during several recent banking crises. But it would be a mistake to conclude that such crises don't matter for the poor. For one thing, the correlation is not strong, and the opposite pattern has also been present. Besides,...

The theme of the 2011 Philippines development report is 'generating inclusive growth, uplifting the poor and vulnerable'. This theme is follows from the priorities set in President Aquino's Social Contract and the emerging 2011-2016 Philippines Development Plan (PDP). The PDP details the vision...

Lesotho began a structural economic transformation in the early 1990s. The transformation has brought higher, more secure incomes to households while the government succeeded in dramatically improving access to services such as education, health, water, and transportation. Yet today, Lesotho...

China's progress in poverty reduction over the last 25 years is enviable. One cannot fail to be impressed by what this vast nation of 1.3 billion people has achieved in so little time. In terms of a wide range of indicators, the progress has been remarkable. Poverty in terms of income and...