This paper raises a number of issues in thinking about and addressing the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. Starting with choice subject to constraints by parents as determining outcomes for children, the paper identifies sequences of interventions to relieve “binding...

This introductory essay for the journal Symposium presents an overview of issues related to ‘Q-Squared in Policy: the use of qualitative and quantitative methods of poverty analysis in decision-making’. We focus on issues raised on the supply side of data use, relating, inter alia to the...

This paper introduces a significant new collection of papers on monetary policy in emerging market economies, written by leading analysts and policy makers. Does existing economic theory provide lessons that are pertinent for designing effective monetary policy frameworks in emerging markets?...

Over the past decade, I have been involved with an “Exposure and Dialogue Program” (EDP), which literally exposes analysts and policy makers to the lived reality of poor women’s lives by getting them to spend a few days experiencing that life. After each EDP, participants are encouraged to...

The academic literature on equality of opportunity has burgeoned. The concepts and measures have begun to be used by policy institutions, including in specific sectors such as health and education. It is argued that one advantage of focusing on equality of opportunity is that policy makers are...

August 1995 - In urban areas of Côte d'Ivoire, human capital is the endowment that best explains welfare changes over time. In rural areas, physical capital - especially the amount of land and farm equipment owned - matters most. Empirical investigations of poverty in developing countries tend...