Equity In Income Distribution Research Articles

Income Distribution and War Trauma: a Cross-National Analysis

HIS analysis investigates the possible effects of civil and foreign wars on income distribution. Past studies have generally focused on how real or perceived injustice in the provision or distribution of social goods (e.g., income, land) can breed political instability in the form of insurgencies or revolutions (e.g., Gurr 1970; Midlarsky 1988, 1982; Midlarsky and Roberts 1985; Mitchell 1968; Muller and Seligson 1987; Nagel 1974; Olson 1963; Panning 1983; Paranzino 1973; Russett 1964). Relatively little empirical attention has been directed to the reverse causal possibility; namely, whether the major social, economic, and political upheavals stemming from traumatic internal or external conflicts may affect the equity of income distribution. There is substantial evidence showing that the economies of the vanquished countries in major interstate conflicts tend to grow much faster than those of the victorious countries during the postwar era (Organski and Kugler 1980). Is it possible that this difference in national performance also applies to achievements regarding equitable income distribution?

Equity Measures for Irrigation Performance Evaluation

ABSTRACT This paper deals with the analytical issues involved in developing and using practical measures of equity for irrigation project performance evaluation. Deriving from the economic literature on equity in income distribution, the paper discusses the usefulness of seven different axioms for equity measures in evaluating the robustness of seven different positive measures of equity such as the range, the relative mean deviation, the variance, the coefficient of variation, the standard deviation of logarithms, the Gini coefficient and Theil's information measure. Based on the fulfillment/non-fulfillment of different axioms, the paper discusses the relative merits/demerits of the above-mentioned seven different measures and concludes on the basis of this critical evaluation that Theil's information measure is more useful than the rest since it fulfills many of the important axioms in addition to its being amenable for decomposition analysis.

Appraising Alternatives for Allocating and Cost Recovery for Irrigation Water in Egypt

AbstractAlternative approaches to allocating and recovering costs for water on Egyptian farms are proposed and evaluated in accordance with the societal objectives of allocative efficiency, equity of income distribution and cost recovery. A linear programming model of a study area in Egypt's northern Delta predicts farmers' response to the proposed cost‐sharing instruments over a range of water supply conditions. Transactions costs for each charging instrument are estimated and incorporated into the allocative. efficiency analysis. Flat land charges, supplemented by water quotas in the event of increasing water scarcity, best achieve societal objectives in the current and prospective Egyptian situation. Volumetric charging instruments were judged to be somewhat less desirable, due to higher tangible and intangible costs of implementation. The results highlight the importance of transactions costs, the degree of water scarcity and other governmental revenue raising policies in determining an appropriate charging mechanism.

Appraising alternatives for allocating and cost recovery for irrigation water in Egypt

Alternative approaches to allocating and recovering costs for water on Egyptian farms are proposed and evaluated in accordance with the societal objectives of allocative efficiency, equity of income distribution and cost recovery. A linear programming model of a study area in Egypt's northern Delta predicts farmers' response to the proposed cost-sharing instruments over a range of water supply conditions. Transactions costs for each charging instrument are estimated and incorporated into the allocative efficiency analysis. Flat land charges, supplemented by water quotas in the event of increasing water scarcity, best achieve societal objectives in the current and prospective Egyptian situation. Volumetric charging instruments were judged to be somewhat less desirable, due to higher tangible and intangible costs of implementation. The results highlight the importance of transactions costs, the degree of water scarcity and other governmental revenue raising policies in determining an appropriate charging mechanism.

Project Selection and the Equity Objective: The Use of Social Analysis

Recent developments in the methodology of social cost -benefit analysis (SCBA) have centred on the use of weights to revalue the income flows created by projects. These developments reflect the increased concern expressed by many governments in the less developed countries (LDCs) about the problems of the lowest income groups, and are an attempt to show how the objective of greater equity in income distribution can be incorporated, in addition to other more conventional objectives, in the appraisal of projects. 1ltis paper discusses the use of income weights in the light of the results of a more detailed study on SCBA in Pakistan by the author [I]. The paper is divided into three sections: the first analyses the different ways in which a weighting system can be incorporated into the appraisal of projects; the second discusses the problem of obtaining values for these weights and suggests a relatively simple approach which can be applied in Pakistan; and, finally, the third section discusses the practical significance of such procedures for decision -taking in the LDCs.

Evaluation and Control of Regional Environmental Systems in the Yodo River Basin: Socio-Economic Aspects

For analysis of large-scale environmental systems in the industrialized Yodo River basin area, a hierarchical multilevel system with many noncommensurable goals is formulated. A regional welfare function is derived in terms of the utility function in each region. For this purpose, a preference hierarchy corresponding to an objective hierarchy is constructed. In the process of deriving individual utility functions as components of the multiattribute utility functions, mathematical optimization technique is utilized. The shadow prices (Lagrangian multipliers), which combine with the constraints, will provide the relative measures for effectiveness of environmental control. The values should be transformed to the concept of utilities, which composes the basic terms for decision analysis. For derivation of the consistent “prices”, the mathematical models can be further decomposed in possible cases of modeling. Along with methodological discussion, some computational results are presented. Equity of income distribution is also taken into consideration. Priorities of problems to be confronted in making policies for the improvement of environmental quality are sought out in the preference-hierarchical system; further, a reformation plan of the industrial structure in these regions is proposed.

The rationale for international assistance to population programs in the developing world.

This article reexamines the rationale for international assistance to population programs in the developing world. Defining the idea of development as a rationally guided effort toward better human conditions, population work is justified if it improves the welfare of the individual family. The renewed interest in providing family planning as part of comprehensive health and nutrition programs reinforces this approach. Allocation of funds for control of fertility is also justified on societal grounds. Excessive population growth hinders poor nations in their quest for adequate food supplies, job opportunities, education, and the other goals of development. It is argued, however, that fertility reduction is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition to achieve improved levels of living in poor countries; birth control should not be considered a substitute for traditional modes of development assistance, nor as a divergence from needed social and economic reform. A new approach to development assistance emphasizing equity in income distribution, even at the expense of overall increases in gross national product, suggests new hope for social justice as well as for the long-run reduction of fertility.

The Burmese Way to Socialism beyond the Welfare State

In some countries with a colonial heritage option for socialism has been made under impact of nationalism and demonstration effect of Sino-Soviet model of economic growth. The choice is made on grounds of both equity in income distribution and relative efficiency of a planned socialist economy over capitalist one. An ideological aversion to capitalism, born out of experiences under colonial rule and sociopolitical indignation over potential threat of alien economic intrusion, has been sin quo non for adopting socialism of evolutionary and revolutionary type. The statism of socialism not only seems to fit political nationalism but also provides psychic income derived from discrimination against aliens in general.' The general preference for state enterprises and public ownership of means of production, a common phenomenon of development planning in many underdeveloped countries, is an aspect of modernization that cannot be dissected solely with respect to its economic or noneconomic aspects. This article, however, does not concern itself with political and ethical justification of the Burmese Way to Socialism, but rather with its economic effects. At outset it must be noted that sources of statistical data and information on functioning of Burmese economy since 1962 are rather limited and unreliable. It is essential, however, to record and analyze series of economic actions taken by military government. With that in mind, this study will scrutinize economic effects of Burmese experiment with a command economy. The main hypothesis of this study is that a simple transfer of ownership and control of resources from private to public sector in