Nanak Kakwani and Hyun Hwa Son make use of social welfare functions to derive indicators of development relevant to specific social objectives, such as poverty- and inequality-reduction. Arguing that the measurement of development cannot be value-free, the authors assert that if indicators of development are to have policy relevance, they must be assessed on the basis of the social objectives in question. This study develops indicators that are sensitive to both the level and the distribution of individuals' capabilities. The idea of the social welfare function, defined in income space, is extended to the concept of the social well-being function, defined in capability space. Through empirical analysis from selected developing countries, with a particular focus on Brazil, the authors shape techniques appropriate to the analysis of development in different dimensions. The focus of this evidence-based policy analysis is to evaluate alternative policies affecting the capacities of people to enjoy a better life.

This research review offers an insight to some of the most important questions economists and policymakers have been grappling over. A substantial amount of research has been carried out using cross-country regression models, resulting in a better and improved understanding of the linkage between economic growth and poverty reduction. The literature on cross-country regressions, however, has led to conflicting conclusions. Reconciling diverging messages makes it difficult to accurately inform policy-making. Based on a selection of influential papers, this volume provides a critical review of the literature. Scholars who envision a world free of extreme poverty will find this analysis particularly valuable.

Issues of economic inequality and poverty have become increasingly central to public debate over the past fifty years. The literature on measuring economic inequality and poverty has vastly expanded, developing many new methods but also generating many controversies. Economic Inequality and Poverty provides a systematic treatment of the development of inequality and poverty, focusing on how income inequality and poverty measurements have evolved in recent decades and identifying approaches to resolving some of the methodological and factual conflicts. The books primary aim is to analyse the relationships between individuals and households distributions of economic variables. These relationships are crucial in understanding many economic phenomena. Kakwani and Son employ household surveys to illustrate the application of their framework, demonstrating its importance in drawing evidence-based policy conclusions.

First published in 1986, this book explores the areas of income distribution and welfare. Analyzing Redistribution Policies developed appropriate techniques to analyze the extent and nature of income inequality and welfare and to measure the direct impact of taxes and government cash transfers on the distribution of income by size of income and other household characteristics. What was the extent of inequality of income and which way was it moving? Was the burden of taxation evenly distributed across the population? Did the rich pay proportionately more or less taxes than the poor? What were the effects of government programs on the welfare of particular groups in the community? An attempt was made to answer these and other related questions by an analysis of the Australian data obtained from the 1975 1976 Household Expenditure Survey. Written in a fairly nontechnical manner, Analyzing Redistribution Policies can be understood with limited knowledge of economics and statistics.