This paper considers some aspects of the effects of fiscal policy on macroeconomic adjustment in developing countries. First, the paper reviews the notion of the fiscal deficit in the partic ular context of developing countries. It then spells out the conditions under which the internal and...

Using a new data set constructed by converting NSS household consumption figures (rural sector) for the 43rd round (1987-88), 50th round (1993-94) and 55th round (1999- 2000) into their nutritional equivalents, this paper presents new evidence of the extent of undernourishment in terms of...

We extend the analysis of Jha and Murthy (2003) to relate consumption to environmental degradation (conceived of as a composite) within a cross-country framework. We use the method of Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to construct an Environmental Degradation Index (EDI) for each country and...

This paper argues that, in view of the resource crunch confronting many developing countries and the fall in ODA flows to them; new sources of development finance need to be found. We consider international taxes, fees and levies that could considerably augment aid flows to developing countries...

In the extant literature either income or consumption expenditures as measured over short periods of time has been regarded as proxies for the material well-being of households. However, economists have long recognized that a household's sense of well-being depends not just on its average income...

This paper presents results on the participation of rural workers in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Program based on a pilot survey of three villages in Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. Three villages (Dhundiya, Karanpur and Prithvisingh Ji Ka Khera) were covered. Total number of...

This paper articulates the necessity of emphasizing the absolute level of environmental degradation in different countries as a guide to understanding the links between such degradation and economic development. We argue the case for developing a composite environmental degradation index (EDI)...

Building on a recent important contribution by Deaton and Dreze (2009), our analysis sheds new light on why the calorie Engel curve shifted down-especially in rural India- over the period 1993–2004. The puzzle for the longer period analysed by Deaton and Dreze (2009) is that despite higher...

Analyses the structure of costs in the cement, lime and plaster industry of India. Using aggregative data for the period 1960-61 to 1982-83 a generalised translog cost function is estimated. It is discovered that (1) this industry has been characterised, by and large, by allocative efficiency;...