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A Micro-Decomposition Analysis of the Macroeconomic Determinants of Human Development

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2007-09
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2012-06-06
Author(s)
Lambert, Sylvie
van de Walle, Dominique
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Abstract
This paper shows how differences in aggregate human development outcomes over time and space can be additively decomposed into a pure economic-growth component, a component attributed to differences in the distribution of income, and components attributed to "non-income" factors and differences in the model linking outcomes to income or non-income characteristics. The income effect at the micro level is modeled non-parametrically, so as to flexibly reflect distributional changes. The paper illustrates the decomposition using data for Morocco and Vietnam, and the results offer some surprising insights into the observed aggregate gains in schooling attainments. A user friendly STATA program is available to implement the method in other settings.
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Lambert, Sylvie; Ravallion, Martin; van de Walle, Dominique. 2007. A Micro-Decomposition Analysis of the Macroeconomic Determinants of Human Development. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4358. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7343 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
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