This paper examines the changes in the level of social welfare in New Zealand over the period 1984 to 1998 in the context of the country's economic reform process since the early 1980s. The earlier part of this period was also characterized by a largely policy-induced economic recession in New...

A new procedure is proposed for estimating Engel elasticities using the Lorenz/concentration curve approach. The method is an extension of works by N. C. Kakwani and S. Yitzhaki. However, the proposed procedure is more flexible in permitting the estimation of standard errors through the usual...

In this article, first, we show how equity considerations, in the guise of inequality of income, enters into a social welfare function. In this connection the important properties of a social welfare function are also discussed. Second, contrary to the popular belief, we contend that the degree...

This paper explores the inter-linkages between homestead forests, health care and the rural people of Bangladesh. In rural Bangladesh, where poverty is endemic, ill health is widespread. Yet, the provision of primary health care is perfunctory, to say the least. So, how do people get by? In this...

This book explores the links between globalization, agriculture and development in a number of contemporary Asia-Pacific nations. It highlights the complex and diversified nature of agricultural change in these contexts, and the ways in which this shapes patterns of economic and social...

Professor Amartya Kumar Sen was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics in 1998 in recognition of his “several key contributions to the research on fundamental problems in welfare economics”, as noted in the Nobel citation. This paper examines three major areas of economics, which it calls...

Econometric analysis of household expenditure is an important area of economic inquiry because the estimated demand parameters are particularly useful in many behavioural aspects of demand forecasting and in welfare issues. This paper analyses expenditure patterns in Mew Zealand by estimating,...