MONITORING ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE POVERTY: “NOT ENOUGH” IS NOT THE SAME AS “MUCH LESS”

Financial poverty indicators assess which people have few financial resources and are thereby at risk of having an unacceptably low living standard. Most countries use one or several “official” poverty indicators, but they typically use either an absolute or a relative benchmark to determine what is unacceptable; absolute benchmarks are based on basic needs or rights while relative benchmarks depend on what is considered to be a “normal” living standard. Applying the absolute U.S. and the relative EU poverty indicators on the U.S. and 15 EU member states, this research shows that it makes sense to use both benchmarks.     

Encouraging Enterprise—The Belgian Experience

Nigel Lawson will meet with failure in adopting Sir Geoffrey Howe's plans for enterprise zones in Britain unless he learns from the mistakes of the Belgian E-Zones. Michael van Notten, who was instrumental in the implementation of the Belgian plan, outlines the political obstacles raised in the path of the E-Zones by empire-building bureaucrats.