Cross-national differences in outcomes are often analysed using regression analysis of multilevel country datasets, examples of which include the ECHP, ESS, EU-SILC, EVS, ISSP, and SHARE. We review the regression methods applicable to this data structure, pointing out problems with the...

This paper utilises micro data on consumption, family composition and land ownership of nearly 70,000 rural Indian households to analyse poverty. The study combines household level information with State level welfare indicators to examine the impact of household size and composition, caste, sex...

In this paper an empirical comparison of a number of alternative multilateral index-number formulae is undertaken. The magnitude of the effect of choosing one formula over another is ascertained using an appropriate cross-sectional data set constructed under the auspices of the Eurostat-OECD...

The paper explains new methodology that was used in the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP) that compared the relative price levels and GDP levels across 146 countries. In this round of the ICP, the world was divided into 6 regions: OECD, CIS, Africa, South America, Asia Pacific and West...

A real wage rate is a nominal wage rate divided by the price of a good and is a transparent measure of how much of the good an hour of work buys. It provides an important indicator of the living standards of workers, and also of the productivity of workers. In this paper I set out the conceptual...

A real wage rate is a nominal wage rate divided by the price of a good and is a transparent measure of how much of the good an hour of work buys. It provides an important indicator of the living standards of workers, and also of the productivity of workers. In this paper I set out the conceptual...

This paper utilises micro data on consumption, family composition and land ownership of nearly 70,000 rural Indian households to analyse poverty in rural India. The study, conducted at the disaggregated level of individual States, examines the impact of household size and composition, caste,...

Cross country poverty comparisons on unit records have rarely, involved bothy developing and developed countries. The present study attempts to fill this gap by comparing poverty across fourteen nations with diverse economic and demograhpic characteristics and at vastly different stages of...

The paper establishes a basis in economic theory for solving the problem of how to make comparisons of aggregate quantities and price levels across two or more geographic regions. To this end, two new classes of relative purchasing power measures are set out and the dual relationships between...

This paper develops a novel multilateral test approach to the problem of international comparisons. Many of the associated tests are justified as "reasonable" using the fact that they are direct analogues to properties of the cost-of-living index. Further support is bestowed upon the new...