This paper is concerned with the measurement of aggregate growth rates, where the aggregation is over time. The paper demonstrates that any mechanical procedures for computing aggregate growth rate has welfare implications, and value judgments implicit in various commonly used procedures are not...

Several poverty indices have been suggested to measure the intensity of poverty suffered by those below the poverty line. Because the indices are estimated on the basis of sample observations, we need to test whether the observed differences in their values are statistically significant. This...

The authors compare trends in per capita private consumption, social sector indicators, and government spending in the social sectors, between countries that received Bank adjustment loans and countries that did not. They point out that there is little reason to believe that the poor are being...

Drawing on data from 15 African countries, simulation models suggest that to reduce the poverty headcount ratio by increasing incomes among poor households, cash transfers would have to be sizeable - in the range of 2-8% of GDP. Even then, an increase in income, by itself, would not suffice to...