In this paper we revise the probabilistic foundations of the theory of the measurement of 'voting power' either as success or decisiveness. For an assessment of these features two inputs are claimed to be necessary: the voting procedure and the voters' behavior. We propose a simple model in...

In this paper we study how the Huber estimator can be adapted to the presence of endogeneity in a two stage equations setting similar to that of 2SLS. We propose an estimation procedure that is at the same time relatively (i) simple, (ii) robust and (iii) efficient. Moreover, we deal with the...

This paper introduces a new methodology to target direct transfers against poverty. Our method is based on observable correlates and on estimation methods that focus on the poor. Using data from Tunisia, we estimate ‘focused’ transfer schemes that improve anti-poverty targeting performances....

Power indices are meant to assess the power that a voting rule confers a priori to each of the decision makers who use it. In order to test and compare them, some authors have proposed "natural" postulates that a measure of a priori voting power "should" satisfy, the violations of which are...

In this paper, we vindicate the relevance of the notion of success or satisfaction for the normative assessment of voting rules. We provide arguments in support of this view and emphasize the conceptual and analytical differences between this notion and that of decisiveness. The conclusions are...

This paper deals with the assessment of inequality in the distribution of voting power. As voting procedures are modeled as simple games and power evaluated through power indices, two approaches are possible to deal with inequality in this context, depending on whether the power profiles...

Spatial price dispersion varies because of climatic fluctuations, marketimperfections, economic growth or economic policies. These variations areoften neglected in poverty studies.In this paper, we propose a simple simulation formula to assess the effecton poverty of a change in the spatial mean...

We show under lognormality that, when the Gini coefficient is stable over time, defining the poverty line as a fraction of a central tendency of the living standard distribution restricts the evolution of the poverty measures to be stable. That is, poverty does not change if the Gini coefficient...

Many social indicators are based on household consumption information. The valuation of non-monetary operations is crucial for the analysis of consumption surveys in developing countries because of the importance of own-consumption and transfers in kind. What are the price statistics used in the...

From Tunisian matched worker-firm data in 1999, we study the returns to human capital for workers observed in two leading manufacturing sectors. Workers in the mechanical and electrical industries (IMMEE) benefit from higher returns to human capital than their counterparts in the...