This paper notes that, for the first time, the concept and treatment of reinvested earnings in the Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual and the 1993 System of National Accounts are fully harmonized. The paper presents the conceptual basis for the measurement of reinvested earnings and...

We study models that display growth with financial deepening and increasing inequality along the way to perpetual steady state growth. A benchmark model is essentially a complete markets model but with transaction costs of financial intermediation. New proofs are required and thus provided for...

This paper examines trends in income distribution in Brazil and the determinants of income inequality, including social expenditure. While recent data reveal reduced income inequality since the Real Plan of July 1994, the distribution of income is still among the most unequal in the world. Among...

As labor has become more mobile in today''s world, it is important to understand the income and welfare of nationals regardless of their residence. This paper develops two key concepts, gross migration-corrected product (GMP) and welfare cost of migration, and calculates them using New Zealand...

This paper reviews income distribution in developing (and transition) countries in recent decades. On average, before-tax income distribution in developing countries is less unequal than in industrial countries. However, unlike industrial countries, developing countries in general have not been...

This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that inequality in Poland increased markedly during the economic transition. Income and consumption inequality actually declined in 1990-92 and rose only moderately above pre-transition levels by 1997. However, inequality in labor earnings increased...

This book brings together the views not only of policymakers and academics but also of religious leaders and labor leaders from around the world- including the 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Amartya Sen - who participated in an IMF conference on this topic. Contributors discuss the causes of...

Against the background of Mexico''s persistently high degree of inequality, this paper analyzes the country''s experience with pro-poor policies over the last decade. A number of important government initiatives, implemented since the mid-1990s, have aimed at improving distributional equity...

The paper examines empirically the question of whether more unequal societies spend more on income redistribution than their more egalitarian counterparts. Theoretical arguments on this issue are inconclusive. The political economy literature suggests that redistributive spending is higher in...

We propose a coherent unified approach to the study of the linkages among economic growth, financial structure, and inequality, bringing together disparate theoretical and empirical literature. That is, we show how to conduct model-based quantitative research on transitional paths. With...