The authors compare trends in per capita private consumption, social sector indicators, and government spending in the social sectors, between countries that received Bank adjustment loans and countries that did not. They point out that there is little reason to believe that the poor are being...

This paper examines trends in the growth of consumption and its distribution and assesses its relative impact on the poor and the ultra poor, over time and across states of India. Using the National Sample Survey data for sixteen major states of India, the paper addresses three issues: (a) how...

This paper explores the relationship between growth rates and changes in welfare, using alternative procedures for measuring growth. The Bank and other organizations often compute growth rates by fitting a least-squares linear trend line to the logarithmic values of economic indicators for a...

The Ukraine is now faced with economic crisis on an unprecedented scale. The government has to follow rigorous demand management policies, which entail lowering the population's standard of living. To design policies that protect the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the society, it is...

How useful and relevant are the results of standard optimal commodity tax models when one or more commodities are rationed? This paper investigates the implications of optimal commodity taxation under rationing. In a single person economy, optimal policy dictates that the rationed commodity...