TY - JOUR
T1 - Poverty and income distribution during adjustment
T2 - Issues and evidence from the OECD project
AU - Bourguignon, François
AU - de Melo, Jaime
AU - Morrisson, Christian
N1 - Funding Information:
*Support from the OECD Development Center and the World Bank under RPO 675-32 is gratefully acknowledged. The views are those of the authors, not those of their respective affiliations, nor those of the supporting agencies. We thank Alain de Janvry, Patri-cio Meller, Elisabeth Sadoulet, and Erik Thorbecke for many helpful suggestions and Rebecca Sugui for unfailing logistic support. Remaining errors are ours.
PY - 1991/11
Y1 - 1991/11
N2 - This paper draws lessons from country studies of the effects of adjustment policies on the distribution of income in Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Malaysia, Morocco, and Indonesia. Following an analytical discussion of the issues that must be confronted in the design of adjustment programs with a poverty focus, the paper synthesizes the main conclusions from the interpretative description in the country studies. Simulation exercises exploring the effects of the design of the adjustment packages in these countries on poverty and the sustainability of the measures undertaken show considerable diversity in the evolution of income distribution during adjustment. These exercises also expose the fatal flaws of narrowly designed adjustment programs. Adjustment programs, whether efficiency-focused of welfare-focused, will fail when they do not recognize the interdependence of the three criteria of efficiency, welfare, and political feasibility. Thus adjustment programs must be carefully packaged to fit country circumstances, taking into account both the political and economic environments.
AB - This paper draws lessons from country studies of the effects of adjustment policies on the distribution of income in Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Malaysia, Morocco, and Indonesia. Following an analytical discussion of the issues that must be confronted in the design of adjustment programs with a poverty focus, the paper synthesizes the main conclusions from the interpretative description in the country studies. Simulation exercises exploring the effects of the design of the adjustment packages in these countries on poverty and the sustainability of the measures undertaken show considerable diversity in the evolution of income distribution during adjustment. These exercises also expose the fatal flaws of narrowly designed adjustment programs. Adjustment programs, whether efficiency-focused of welfare-focused, will fail when they do not recognize the interdependence of the three criteria of efficiency, welfare, and political feasibility. Thus adjustment programs must be carefully packaged to fit country circumstances, taking into account both the political and economic environments.
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U2 - 10.1016/0305-750X(91)90002-Y
DO - 10.1016/0305-750X(91)90002-Y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0026346775
SN - 0305-750X
VL - 19
SP - 1485
EP - 1508
JO - World Development
JF - World Development
IS - 11
ER -