This paper argues that the future of composite indices of development such as the Human Development Index depends on how successfully they become operational and this is more likely to be possible at the country level for a variety of reasons. With this in mind the paper proposes a method and a...

This paper investigates the extent of disparities amongst the provinces of China since the economic reform in 1978 up to the most recent year for which data is available. After a brief review of theoretical and in particular recent empirical literature on regional inequality in China it...

This paper surveys the various composite well-being indices that have been inter-country assessments over the last 40 or soy ears, including the well known Human Development Index (HDI). A number of issues are considered, including the choice of components, component weights, scale equivalence,...

This paper analyses three aspects of the export supply response to structural adjustment programmes supported by the World Bank. First, have programmes improved programme countries' export performance relative to non-programme countries? Second, have programmes contributed to re-orientation of...