Journal Issue: World Bank Economic Review, Volume 18, Issue 3
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Volume
18
Number
3
Issue Date
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
1564-698X
Journal
World Bank Economic Review
1564-698X
Journal Volume
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Articles
On the Unequal Inequality of Poor Communities
(World Bank, 2004-09-01) Elbers, Chris; Lanjouw, Peter F.; Mistiaen, Johan A.; Özler, Berk; Simler, Ken
Communities differ in important ways in
their needs, capacities, and circumstances. Because central
governments are not able to discern these differences fully,
they seek to achieve their policy objectives by relying on
decentralized mechanisms that use local information.
Household and individual characteristics within communities
can also vary substantially. A growing body of theoretical
literature suggests that inequality within communities can
influence policy outcomes in ways that are either harmful or
helpful, depending on the circumstances. Until recently,
empirical investigations into the impact of inequality have
been held back by a lack of systematic evidence on
community-level inequality. This study uses household survey
and population census data to estimate per capita
consumption inequality within communities in three
developing economies. It finds that communities vary
markedly in their degree of inequality. It also shows that
there should be no presumption that inequality is less
severe in poor communities. The kind of community-level
inequality estimates generated here can be used in designing
and evaluating decentralized antipoverty programs.
Trade Policy and Poverty Reduction in Brazil
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004-09) Harrison, Glenn W.; Rutherford, Thomas F.; Tarr, David G.; Gurgel, Angelo
A multi-region computable general
equilibrium model is used to evaluate the regional,
multilateral, and unilateral trade policy options of
Mercosur from the perspective of the welfare of all
potential partners in several proposed agreements. The focus
for Brazil is on poverty impacts. The results show that the
poorest households in Brazil experience gains of 1.5-5.5
percent of their consumption, which are about three to four
times the average gains for Brazil. Protection in Brazil
favors capital-intensive manufacturing relative to unskilled
labor-intensive agriculture and manufacturing. So trade
liberalization raises the return to unskilled labor relative
to capital and disproportionately helps the poor.
Trade Liberalization and Industry Wage Structure : Evidence from Brazil
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004-09) Pavcnik, Nina; Blom, Andreas; Goldberg, Pinelopi; Schady, Norbert
Industry affiliation provides an
important channel through which trade liberalization can
affect worker earnings and wage inequality between skilled
and unskilled workers. This empirical study of the impact of
the 1988-94 trade liberalization in Brazil on the industry
wage structure suggests that although industry affiliation
is an important component of worker earnings, the structure
of industry wage premiums is relatively stable over time.
There is no statistical association between changes in
industry wage premiums and changes in trade policy or
between industry-specific skill premiums to university
graduates and trade policy. Thus trade liberalization in
Brazil did not significantly contribute to increased wage
inequality between skilled and unskilled workers through
changes in industry wage premiums. The difference between
these results and those obtained for other countries (such
as Colombia and Mexico) provides fruitful ground for
studying the conditions under which trade reforms do not
have an adverse effect on industry wage differentials
Lobbying, Counterlobbying, and the Structure of Tariff Protection in Poor and Rich Countries
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004-09) Cadot, Olivier; Melo, Jaime de; Olarreaga, Marcelo
A political economy model of protection
is used to determine endogenously the intersectoral patterns
of protection. Three propositions are derived that are
consistent with the stylized patterns of tariff protection
in rich and poor countries: Nominal protection rates
escalate with the degree of processing, protection is higher
on average in poor countries, and rich countries protect
agriculture relatively more than they protect manufacturing,
whereas poor countries do the reverse. Numerical simulations
for archetypal rich and poor economies confirm that the
endogenously determined structure of protection is broadly
consistent with observed patterns of protection.
Small-Scale Industry, Environmental Regulation, and Poverty : The Case of Brazil
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004-09) Jayaraman, Rajshri; Lanjouw, Peter F.
Governments and international
development agencies have intensified efforts to promote
small-scale enterprises as an engine of pro-poor growth. In
Brazil, however, small scale industries may also be
responsible for the bulk of air pollution emissions.
Although employees of polluting small-scale industries in
Brazil are not disproportionately poor, simulations suggest
that stringent environmental regulation resulting in
widespread closures of pollution-intensive small-scale
industries would result in a non-negligible increase in
poverty among employees of these firms. The results suggest
that the enthusiasm for small-scale enterprises needs to be
tempered by awareness of the potential environmental costs
imposed by this sector.
Social Protection in a Crisis : Argentina's Plan Jefes y Jefas
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004-09) Galasso, Emanuela; Ravallion, Martin
The article assesses the impact of
Argentina's main social policy response to the severe
economic crisis of 2002. The program was intended to provide
direct income support for families with dependent sand whose
head had become unemployed because of the crisis. Counter
factual comparisons are based on a matched subset of
applicants not yet receiving program assistance. Panel data
spanning the crisis are also used. The program reduced
aggregate unemployment, though it attracted as many people
into the workforce from inactivity as it did people who
otherwise would have been unemployed. Although there was
substantial leakage to formally ineligible families and
incomplete coverage of those who were eligible, the program
did partially compensate many losers from the crisis and
reduced extreme poverty.
Ghost Doctors : Absenteeism in Rural Bangladeshi Health Facilities
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004-09) Chaudhury, Nazmul; Hammer, Jeffrey S.
Unannounced visits were made to health
clinics in Bangladesh to determine what proportion of
medical professionals were at their assigned post. Averaged
over all job categories and types of facility, the absentee
rate was 35 percent. The absentee rate for physicians was 40
percent at the larger clinics and 74 percent at the smaller
sub-centers with a single physician. Whether the medical
provider lives near the health facility, the opportunity
cost of the provider's time, road access, and rural
electrification are highly correlated with the rate and
pattern of absenteeism.