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We propose a new class of mobility measures which we call “measures of distributional difference.” Members of this new class measure mobility as integrated weighted distributional difference. We demonstrate that many leading measures of mobility proposed in the literature are members of this class. Our approach therefore permits a considerable unification of a diverse literature. Moreover, our tools enable us to make explicit the implicit weighting properties of leading members of this class whose original forms do not lend themselves to such an analysis. This leads us to question the attractiveness of some popular mobility indices.

Abstract. The way poverty is measured is important for an understanding of what has happened to poverty as well as for anti-poverty policy evaluation. Sen’s (1976) pathfinding work has motivated many researchers to focus on the way poverty should be measured. A poverty measure, argued by Sen, should satisfy certain properties or axioms and the desirability of a poverty measure should be evaluated by these axioms. During the last two decades, many researchers have adopted the axiomatic approach pioneered by Sen to propose additional axioms and develop alternative poverty measures. The objective of this survey is to provide a clarification on the extensive literature of aggregate poverty measures. In this survey, we first examine the desirability of each axiom, the properties of each poverty measure, and the interrelationships among axioms. The desirability of an axiom cannot be evaluated in isolation, and some combination of axioms may make it impossible to devise a satisfactory poverty measure; some axioms can be implied by other axioms combined and so are not independent; some others are ad hoc and are disqualified as axioms for poverty measurement. Based on the interactions among axioms, we identify the ‘core ’ axioms which together have a strong implication on the functional form of a poverty measure. We then review poverty measures that have appeared in the literature, evaluating the interrelationships among different measures, and examining the properties of each measure. The axioms each measure satisfies�violates are also summarized in a tabular form. Several ‘good ’ poverty measures, which have not been documented by previous surveys, are also included.

This paper surveys the empirical literature on the economic geography of trade flows, factor prices, and the location of production. The discussion is structured around the empirical predictions of a canonical theoretical model. We review empirical evidence on the determinants of trade costs and the effects of these costs on trade flows. Geography is a major determinant of factor prices, and access to foreign markets alone is shown to explain some 35 % of the cross-country variation in per capita income. The paper documents empirical findings of home market (or magnification) effects, suggesting that imperfectly competitive industries are drawn more than proportionately to locations with good market access. Sub-national evidence establishes the presence of industrial clustering, and we examine the roles played by product market linkages to customer and supplier firms, knowledge spillovers, and labour market externalities.

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Abstract: In the last year or so, markedly different claims have been heard within the development community about how just much progress is being made against poverty and inequality in the current period of “globalization. ” This paper provides a non-technical overview of the conceptual and methodological issues underlying these conflicting claims. The paper argues that the dramatically differing positions taken in this debate often stem from differences in the concepts and definitions used and differences in data sources and measurement assumptions. These differences are often hidden from view in the debate, but they need to be considered carefully if one is to properly interpret the evidence. The paper argues that the best available evidence suggests that, if the rate of progress against absolute poverty in the developing world in the 1990s is maintained, then the Millennium Development Goal of halving the 1990 aggregate poverty rate by 2015 will be achieved on time in the aggregate, though not in all regions. The paper concludes with some observations on the implications for policy-oriented debates on globalization and pro-poor growth.

this paper are our own and should not be taken to reflect those of the World Bank or any of its affiliates. All errors are our own

The European Economy Group (EEG) was formed in 1998 within the framework

We construct and derive the properties of an estimator of welfare which takes advantage of the detailed nature of information about living standards available in small household surveys and the comprehensive coverage of a census. By combining the strengths of each, our estimator can be used at a disaggregated level. It has a clear interpretation; it can be expanded in a consistent way to any welfare measure; and can be assessed for reliability using standard statistical theory. Because unit record census data present some computational hurdles, we explore simulation and numerical integration approaches, as well as the use of distributional approximations. For non-separable inequality measures we derive speci¯c formulas to allow the use of `shortcut ' computational methods. Using data from Ecuador we obtain estimates of welfare measures which are very reliable for populations of 5,000 households, `town's, and in many cases for those as small as 500. We provide simple illustrations of their use. In the longer run, such estimates open up the possibility of estimating and testing, at a more convincing intra-country level, the many recent

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