In this study attempt to estimate the impact of schooling attainment on an important indicator of labour market performance: wealth. OLS and IV regressions produced economically and statistically significant estimates, with OLS estimate of about 18 percent and IV estimate of about 30 percent...

The agricultural productivity levels and variations in agricultural performance have been analysed across districts and regions in the state of Uttar Pradesh with the aim of identifying factors that affect land and labour productivity and in turn, rural poverty. The performance of agriculture in...

Can a government reduce income inequality by changing the composition of public spending while keeping the total level of expenditure fixed? Using newly assembled data on spending composition for 83 countries across all income groups, this paper shows that reallocating spending toward social...

This paper is prepared as a chapter for the Handbook of Income Distribution, Volume 2 (edited by A. B. Atkinson and F. Bourguignon, Elsevier-North Holland, forthcoming). Like the other chapters in the volume (and its predecessor), the aim is to provide a comprehensive review of a particular area...

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the food assistance program formerly known as food stamps, has become America's fastest growing social welfare program. As recently as 2000, just 17 million Americans participated in the program at a cost of less than $18 billion. Today,...

This study examines the impact of individual schooling attainment on well-defined vulnerability indicators of individuals' expectation of future economic wellbeing, and frequency of access to food, water, healthcare, cooking fuel and cash in the past one year. OLS estimates, after correcting for...

In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama endorsed a plan to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. Supporters of the increase argue that a $10.10 minimum wage is necessary to ensure that those who work hard and play by the rules do not live in...

This article provides empirical evidence on the operation and effects of the neo-liberal system of poverty governance emerging in the United States. Relying on data collected on Florida, a state recognized for innovation in implementing welfare reform, we present findings that demonstrate...

This study aims to present microsimulations of the future of non-contributory social transfers in Brazil, discussing trade-offs of benefit designs, estimating costs and impacts on poverty and inequality and assessing operational and budgetary issues. We simulate the adoption of three different...

Do healthcare providers pick their patients? This paper uses patient-level administrative data on skilled nursing facilities in California to estimate a structural model of selective admission practices in the nursing home industry. I exploit within-facility covariation between occupancy and...