The Evolution of Poverty and Inequality in Indian Villages

This paper examines the evolution of poverty and inequalityin rural India by reviewing longitudinal village studies. Itexplores the main forces of economic change—agriculturalintensification, changing land relations, and occupational diversification—froma wide range of disciplinary perspectives, and it considersthe roles of various institutions as conduits of change. Althoughmost village studies support the survey-based judgment thatrural poverty declined in India during the 1970s and 1980s,they find that progress has been slow and irregular and thatinequalities within villages have persisted. These continuedinequalities may constrain both the scope for further povertyreduction from economic growth and the impact of policy interventions.      

法教义学:力量与弱点

法教义学不可替代的功能在于就法律实践进行的沟通,尤其是法教义学为法律系统内的沟通提供了"法言法语"。法教义学的方法有三个:法律渊源学说、法学方法论与体系化。而德国式法教义学的潜在弱点在于不恰当的体系化。不恰当的体系化会导致僵化、保守以及对其他学科知识和视角的忽视。但这种不恰当的体系化并非法教义学的必然结果。避免此弱点的途径是在处理疑难案件时的两步走:第一步是首先忘却体系、直面问题,就各种解决方案在法学与非法学上的论据进行充分辩论,并得出此案件的应然处理方案;第二步是回归体系,将上一步中得到的案件处理方案纳入到体系中,对其给出法律体系内部的名分。     

Microfinance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh

Microfinance supports mainly informal activities that oftenhave a low return and low market demand. It may therefore behypothesized that the aggregate poverty impact of microfinanceis modest or even nonexistent. If true, the poverty impact ofmicrofinance observed at the participant level represents eitherincome redistribution or short-run income generation from themicrofinance intervention. This article examines the effectsof microfinance on poverty reduction at both the participantand the aggregate levels using panel data from Bangladesh. Theresults suggest that access to microfinance contributes to povertyreduction, especially for female participants, and to overallpoverty reduction at the village level. Microfinance thus helpsnot only poor participants but also the local economy.     

The Analysis of Poverty Data with Endogenous Transitions*

It is common to analyse poverty data broken down by household or economic status. Implicitly, it is assumed that people change state (for example, single, married, children, no children) for exogenous reasons. If we bring economic behaviour into the problem, then such transitions become endogenous. The data are then insufficient to identify the claims made from them. The distribution of the characteristics of the individuals in the states will be endogenous, and the state average poverty rate will depend on the composition of the individuals in the state as well as on the economic impact of being in that state per se. In this paper, we set out a simple model with endogenous transitions to make our point, and apply this to Family Expenditure Survey data for Britain. We show that our argument has empirical content for Britain.     

Debate: The dangers of fiscal illusion

Crime prevention emerged as a separate policy issue in the late 1970s, with rising crime rates, disillusionment with traditional crime control methods and evidence that situational methods could be effective. There have since then been changes in language and approach. Situational crime prevention no longer dominates. The language is of community safety and crime reduction. The focus is on fear of crime and incivilities, as well as crime. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships now have statutory responsibilities at a local level. While in some ways the circumstances are auspicious for improved, evidence-based policy and practice, they face substantial obstacles.     

Debate: The need for procurement risk management

Improvement boards offer a new approach to supporting stronger performance by public service organizations, and especially those facing significant issues of change. They involve formalized peer challenge and support by senior politicians and managers from other agencies. The authors document early experiences with improvement boards in local government and draw conclusions for policy and practice. Improvement boards will have the most impact where the organization's leadership already has some understanding of the performance improvement task, and is able to position the board as part of a wider strategy for change.     

大稳健、大恐慌和大收缩

本文为英格兰银行负责货币政策的副行长查尔斯·比恩(Charles Bean)先生在2009年8月25日欧洲经济学协会熊彼特讲座上的主题演讲。与其他对于本轮危机的分析相比,本文有两个最显著的特点:一是视野更加开阔、观点更加平衡:二是分析框架更加规范、逻辑性强。本文所涉及的问题正是国际金融监管改革的核心。     

Relative Poverty in Great Britain and the United States, 1979–2017

This paper examines the major changes to the face of poverty in Great Britain over the past few decades, assessing the role of policy, and compares and contrasts this with the patterns seen in the United States, using harmonised household survey data. There are various commonalities between the countries, including a shift in the composition of those in poverty towards working‐age households without children, who have not been the focus of policy attention. There are also big differences, with a steadily increasing share of poverty in Great Britain – but a stable share in the United States – found in households with an adult in paid work. This perhaps explains why the anti‐poverty focus in Great Britain is now squarely on the plight of working households, while in the United States it is focused on labour force participation among the low skilled – even though, as we show, the United States has, for decades, been accustomed to in‐work poverty comprising a significantly higher proportion of overall poverty than in Great Britain.