Levels and trends in regional and global inequality and poverty, 1993 - 2011: Are these measure Sensitivite to the choice of PPPs and real income measures?
Prof. Prasada Rao, University of Queensland, Australia
The paper describes econometric methodology used in fitting flexible income distributions with aggregate data and the method used in constructing regional and global income distributions. The paper also discusses the World Bank methodology to estimate incidence of regional and global poverty using $1/day and $2/day international poverty lines. Estimates of regional and global inequality and poverty are presented for 1993, 2005 and 2011. A critical element in estimating regional and global inequality poverty is the data on PPPs and real incomes. The paper examines sensitivity of the inequality results to the use of alternative sets of real incomes derived using different sets of PPP data to convert per capita income data into a common currency unit. Major revisions to estimates of global poverty following the release of PPP data for the benchmark years 2005 and 2011 are discussed.
About the speaker
Rao is a Professor of Economics in the School of Economics at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia and a Fellow of the Society for Economic Measurement. He is a Managing Editor of the Review of Income and Wealth and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Productivity Analysis. His research interests include: index numbers; methods for international comparisons of prices, real GDP, real output and productivity; measurement of efficiency and productivity; modelling income distributions and the measurement of inequality and poverty; and applied econometrics His research publications includes over a dozen books, monographs and edited books; chapters in edited books and papers in top-ranked journals.
Venue: Conference Rooom
Date: 02 October 2014
Time: 12:30 - 13:30 CET
