One of the apparent inconsistencies in the breakup of multinational states is that, while the republics justified their decision by claiming they wanted increased sovereignty, the new states'strong desire to join the European Union shows their intention to dissipate this sovereignty. How can the...

The authors present a political economy model in which policy is the outcome of an interaction between three actors: government (G), managers and workers (W), and transfer recipients (P). The government's objective is to stay in power, for which it needs the support of either P or W. It can...

During Russia's economic transition real income declined precipitously for most of the population. How were Russians'perceptions of the minimum income level needed to survive affected by such a rapid decline in their incomes? Based on data collected from repeated surveys of individuals during...

The economic crisis that began in Poland in 1978 significantly reduced the population's average incomes and increased the proportion of the population living below the poverty line by 10 percentage points. The composition of thepoor has also changed. Before the crisis, most of the poor lived in...

Using for the first time household survey data from 26 post-Communist countries, covering the period 1990-2005, this paper examines correlates of unprecedented increases in inequality registered by most of the economies. The analysis shows, after controlling for country fixed effects and type of...

Using national income and expenditure distribution data from 119 countries, the authors decompose total income inequality between the individuals in the world, by continent and by"region"(countries grouped by income level). They use a Gini decomposition that allows for an exact breakdown...

Using three large nationally-representative Malaysian Household Income Surveys from 1984, 1989 and 1997, the present paper examines inequality and determinants of earnings. During the period 1984-1997, Malaysia's real per capita GDP increased by approximately 70percent, the participation rates...

Using the national income/expenditure distribution data from 111 countries, we decompose total inequality between the individuals in the world, by continents and regions. We use Yitzhaki's Gini decomposition which allows for an exact breakdown of the Gini. We find that Asia is the most...