World Institute for Development Economics Research

About: World Institute for Development Economics Research is a facility organization based out in Helsinki, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Poverty & Population. The organization has 110 authors who have published 525 publications receiving 17316 citations.

Introduction to the Special Section: Poverty and Inequality in China

Abstract: Pre-reform China can be characterized as a country with equality of poverty—a largely egalitarian society with very low per capita GDP. In the late 1970s, hundreds of millions of people lived in absolute poverty. Economic reforms that began with the rural household production responsibility system in late 1978, and then spread into other sectors of the economy, have transformed China economically and socially. The annual growth rate has averaged 9% in the last quarter of a century. The 2005 per capita income is almost six times that of 1985. This unprecedented growth rate, coupled with government efforts in reducing poverty which first started in 1980, has led to remarkable poverty reduction, particularly in rural China.According to the World Bank, China lifted 422 million people out of poverty during 1981–2001. This large-scale poverty reduction in China owes a great deal to the rural production responsibility system, which is sometimes termed “second land reform”. Under this system, land was decollectivized and allocated to individual households on the basis of household size and household labor force. This ensured that early economic growth in China was pro-rural and inclusive. As a consequence, rural inequality declined and the urban–rural gap narrowed. Since the urban–rural gap comprises over 50% of China’s total inequality, income distribution in China must have improved significantly over that period. This, together with high economic growth, necessarily translated into large drops in poverty. As the impact of rural reform leveled off and the reform emphasis was shifted to urban China in the mid 1980s, overall inequality in China stopped declining and started to climb. Since then, little attention had been paid to equity concerns until very recently. In other words, subsequent reforms were primarily targeted at improving economic efficiency, which prompted resource flows to coastal provinces and non-farming sectors. This market-driven mechanism of factor allocation has undoubtedly contributed to the remarkable growth in China, particularly in the relatively affluent areas and urban China, leading to an enlarged urban–rural gap and a growing regional inequality. From this perspective, the rich have gained more than the poor from reforms in China. It is precisely this worsening distribution that has caused the recent slowdown in poverty reduction, even reversal, in China. At present, the Chinese government is confronted with the poverty–growth– inequality triangle. While equity may have to be sacrificed in order to initiate and maintain growth, future poverty reduction cannot be achieved without improved distribution. Conversely, tackling inequality and poverty in China requires more resources for the less efficient rural sector and perhaps less productive regions, which would

Climate change, agriculture and food security in Tanzania

Abstract: The consequences of climate change for agriculture and food security in developing countries are of serious concern. Due to their reliance on rain-fed agriculture, both as a source of income and consumption, many low-income countries are considered to be the most vulnerable to climate change. This paper estimates the impact of climate change on food security in Tanzania. Representative climate projections are used in calibrated crop models to predict crop yield changes for 110 districts in the country. The results are in turn imposed on a highly-disaggregated, recursive dynamic economy-wide model of Tanzania. The authors find that, relative to a no-climate-change baseline and considering domestic agricultural production as the principal channel of impact, food security in Tanzania appears likely to deteriorate as a consequence of climate change. The analysis points to a high degree of diversity of outcomes (including some favorable outcomes) across climate scenarios, sectors, and regions. Noteworthy differences in impacts across households are also present both by region and by income category.

Inequality: Measurement, Trends, Impacts and Policies

Abstract: Many low- and middle-income countries are achieving good rates of economic growth, while high inequality remains a priority concern. Some countries meanwhile have low growth, high inequality, and pervasive poverty—often linked to their fragility. There is now active debate on how countries should set themselves goals for achieving both absolute poverty reduction and lower inequality. But policy action needs to be better served by analysis and data.

Telescoping Error in Recalled Food Consumption: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Ethiopia

Abstract: Abstract Telescoping errors occur if survey respondents misdate events from outside the reference period and include them in their recall. Concern about telescoping influenced the design of early Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys, which used a two-visit interview format to bound food consumption recall. This design fell out of favor although not for evidence-based reasons. To measure the extent of telescoping bias on food consumption measures, a survey experiment was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, randomly assigning households to either a two-visit bounded recall or a single visit unbounded recall. The average value of reported food consumption is 16 percent higher (95 percent CI: 7.4–25.9) in the unbounded single visit recall relative to the two-visit bounded recall. Most of the error is explained by difference in reported spending on less frequently consumed, protein-rich foods, so apparent food security indicators based on household diet diversity are likely overstated with unbounded recall.