No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Are Low Income Countries Catching up or Falling Further Behind? Evidence from Income and Demographic Indicators
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2023
Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to measure changes in living conditions in one hundred and ten countries of the World during the period 1961 to 1990. Our concern is whether the economic and social gap is narrowing or widening. We also examine in which countries has there been a consistent improvement in average living standards. The standard of living is measured in terms of (a) per capita income, (b) life expectancy at birth and (c) infant mortality rate. The justification of these indicators is provided in terms of functionings and capabilities.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s) 1993
Footnotes
**
We are indebted to Professor John Nevile for his helpful comments
References
Abramovitz, M.
(1986), “Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind”, Journal of Economic History, June, Vol.46, pp.385–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, A.B.
(1970), “On the Measurement of Inequality”, Journal of Economic Theory, Vol.2.Google Scholar
Baumol, W.J.
(1986), “Productivity Growth, Convergence and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show”, American Economic Review, Vol.76, pp.1072–85.Google Scholar
Bardhan, P.
(1974), “On Life and Death Questions”, Economic and Political Weekly (August), Special number.Google Scholar
Bergson, A.
(1938), “A Reformulation of Certain Aspects of Welfare Economics”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.52, pp.310–34.Google Scholar
Conover, W.J., Iman, Ronald L.
(1981) “Rank Transformations as a Bridge Between Parametric and Non-Parametric Statistics”, The American Statistician, Vol.35, No.3, 124–129.Google Scholar
Dalton, H.
(1920), “The Measurement of Inequality of Income”, Economic Journal, 30, 348–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dasgupta, P.
(1990), “Well-being and the Extent of its Realization in Poor Countries”, Economic Journal (Supplement), Vol.100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stev, Dowrick, Nguyen, Tom
(1989), “Measurement and International Comparison”, in
Chapman, Bruce
(ed), Australian Economic Growth, Essays in Honour of Fred H. Gruen, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University.Google Scholar
Stev, Dowrick, Nguyen, Tom
(1989), “OECD Comparative Economic Growth 1950–85: Catch-up and Convergence”, American Economic Review, Vol.79, No.5, pp. 1010–1029.Google Scholar
Drewnowski, J.
(1974), “On Measuring and Planning the Quality of Life” (Institute of Social Studies, The Hague).Google Scholar
Goldstein, Joshua S.
(1985), “Basic Human Needs: The Plateau Curve”, World Development, Vol.13, pp.595–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosse, Robert N., Perry, Barbara H.
(1983), “Correlates of Life Expectancy in Less Developed Countries”, Research in Human Capital and Development, Vol.3 pp.217–253.Google Scholar
Gruen, F.H.
(1986), “How bad is Australia’s Economic Performance and Why?” The Economic Record, June, pp.180–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicks, Norman
(1979), “Growth vs Basic Needs: Is there a Trade-off?” World Development, Vol.7, pp.985–994.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicks, Norman, Streeten, Paul
(1979), “Indicators of Development: The Search for a Basic Needs Yard-stick”, World Development, Vol.7, pp.567–580.Google Scholar
Isenman, Paul
(1980), “Basic Needs: The Case of Sri Lanka”, World Development, Vol.8, March.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jalan, J., Subbarao, K.
(1992), “Gender-Differentiated Human Development Indices: Methodology and Empirical Evidence from Cross-Country Data”, mimeographed paper of the Women in Development Division, The World Bank, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Kakwani, N.
(1981), “Welfare Measures: An International Comparison”, Journal of Development Economics, Vol.8, 21–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kakwani, N.
(1986), “Analyzing Redistribution Policies: A Study Using Australian Data”, Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Kakwani, N.
(1988), “The Economic Crisis of the 1980s and Living Standards in Eighty Developing Countries”, CAER Paper No.25, Centre for Applied Economic Research, The University of New South Wales, Australia.Google Scholar
Kakwani, N.
(1991), “Aggregate Welfare and Growth Rates in OECD Countries 1960 to 1988”, Centre for Applied Economic Research Working Paper No. 1991/1, The University of New South Wales.Google Scholar
Kakwani, N.
(1992), “Performance in Living Standards: An International Comparison”, Asia-Pacific Studies Bulletin, No.2, Centre for Applied Economic Research, University of New South Wales, Australia, forthcoming in the Journal of Development Economics.Google Scholar
Kakwani, N., Subbarao, K.
(1993), “Global Development: Is the Gap Widening or Closing?” in
Gregori, De, Rodgers,
(eds), Poverty Policy in Developing Nations. Jai Press U.S.A.Google Scholar
Kormendi, Roger, Meguire Philip, G.
, (1985), “Macroeconomic Determinants of Growth”, Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol.16, 141–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGranahan, D.V.C., Richard-Proust, , Sovani, N.V., Subramanian, M.
(UN Research Institute for Social Development), Contents and Measurement of Socio-economic Development, Praeger, New York.Google Scholar
Morris, David
(1979), Measuring the Conditions of the World Poor: The Physical Quality of Life Index, Pergamon Press, New York.Google Scholar
Morawetz, David
(1977), Twenty Five Years of Economic Development, World Bank, Washington D.C.
Google Scholar
Preston, Samuel H.
(1976), Mortality Patterns in National Populations with Special Reference to Recorded Causes of Death, Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Preston, S.H.
(1980), “Causes and Consequences of Mortality Declines in Less Developed Countries During the Twentieth Century”, in
Easterlin, R.A.
(ed.) Population and Economic Change in Developing Countries, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Samuelson, P.A.
(1947), Foundation of Economic Analysis, Mass. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sen, A.K.
(1973), “On the Development of Basic Economic Indicators to SupplementGNP Measures”, United Nations Bulletin for Asia and the Far East, Vol.24.Google Scholar
Sein, A.K.
(1974), “Informational Bases of Alternative Welfare Approaches: Aggregation and Income Distribution, Journal of Public Economics, 4, 387–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, A.K.
(1981), “Public Action and the Quality of Life in Developing Countries”, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Vol.43, November, pp.287–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, A.K.
(1984), Resources, Values and Development, Blackwell, Oxford and Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA.Google Scholar
Sen, A.K.
(1987a), “The Concept of Development”, Chapter 1, (eds)
Chenery, H.B., Srinivas, T.N.
, Handbook of Development Economics.Google Scholar
Sen, A.K.
(1989), “Economic Distance and the Living Standard”, in
Ahooja-Patel, Krishna, Drabek, Anne Gordon, Nertin, Marc
(eds) World Economy in Transition, Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Sheehan, G., Hopkins, M.
(1979), “Basic Needs Performance: An Analysis of Some International Data”, Geneva: International Labour Office.Google Scholar
Streeten, Paul
(1979), “Basic Needs: Premises and Promises”, Journal of Policy Modelling, pp. 136–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Streeten, P.
(1981), First Things First: Meeting Basic Needs in Developing Countries, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Summer, R., Heston, A.
(1988), “A New Set of International Comparison of Real Product and Price Levels Estimates for 130 Countries 1950–85”, Review of Income and Wealth, pp.1–25.Google Scholar
United Nations (1990), Human Development Report 1990, UNDP, Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
UNRISD (1972), Contents and Measurement of Socio-Economic Development: A Staff Study, Praeger, New York.Google Scholar