MACMILLAN THE IMPACT OF MACROECONOMIC POLICIES ON POVERTY AND INCOME DISTIBUTION: Macro-micro Evaluation Techniques and Tools (Equity and Development Series)

This volume assembles methodologies and techniques to evaluate the poverty impact of macroeconomic policies. It deals with evaluating the impact of macro-economic policies or shocks on poverty and income distribution using cutting-edge approaches. Policy-makers are increasingly becoming aware that, despite a positive effect on the average income of their citizens, many macro policies can sometimes produce deterioration in the welfare of specific groups. Similarly, poverty reduction policies designed to target specific individuals and/or households, may end-up producing macro (mostly fiscal) consequences. Thus, the selection and implementation of economic policies requires a careful assessment of both their effect on aggregate economy and their effect on income distribution and poverty. Modern micro-simulation techniques that use micro data sets to 'simulate' the policy impact on all individuals in a sample that is statistically representative of an entire population are the most promising tool that can provide such careful assessment. This volume presents a comprehensive array of these techniques, from the simpler macro models that use representative household groups to link macro economic policies and microeconomic data, to more complex top-down modeling frameworks that combine (top) macro models and (down) micro-simulation models .The book also explores fully integrated models where the macro and micro parts feed back each other. By providing a clear access to these techniques, documenting their analytical underpinnings, their data requirements, their range of applicability and even by highlighting some of their limitations, this book provides a unique compendium for practitioners, policy makers and anyone interested in economic development.