This paper discusses the measurement of poverty and well-being. A historical overview is given of the last fifty years. This is followed by discussion of three groupings of indicators: those measures based primarily on economic well-being; those based on non-economic well-being and composite...

This introduction reviews some of the issues and controversies within development economics over the last half century. Particular attention is given to the status of development economics as a sub-discipline of economics and to the relationship between theoretical and empirical contributions....

The ``Palma'' is the ratio of national income shares of the top 10 percent of households to the bottom 40 percent, reflecting Gabriel Palma's observation of the stability of the ``middle'' 50 percent share of income across countries so that distribution is largely a question of the tails. In...

This paper addresses the following question: why are we still arguing about globalization? Focus is placed on the conceptual point of departure, 'globalization' and its quantification. Differentiation is made between two perspectives on global economic integration: globalization as...

This paper is concerned with disagreements between researchers over economic policy and poverty and the implications for policy makers. It sets out to show that on three selected policy questions the 'conventional wisdom' is in fact highly contested. It then discusses why this might be and what...

The paper discusses the poor health statistics for children in the age group of 11-19. The main reasons for deteriorating health are identified as reduction in cost of food products, lack of physical education and junk-food marketing. The paper also brings out the importance of having a healthy...

A major challenge in achieving universal education lies in ensuring that girls who have missed the school bus or simply got off the bus too early, can realise their right to quality, basic education. This paper reviews several key initiatives in the last decade to reach out to out-of-school...

Building upon a larger research project at four sites in the Western Ghats of peninsular India, this study examines the link between stream flow, agricultural water use and economic returns to agriculture. The study attempts to simulate the likely impacts of regeneration of a degraded forest...