The challenges associated with poverty measurement with a cardinal variable have received due attention during the last four decades, but there is a dearth of literature studying how to meaningfully assess poverty with an ordinal variable.
... See More + This paper first proposes a class of simple, intuitive and policy-relevant poverty measures for ordinal variables. These measures are sensitive to depth of deprivations, unlike the headcount ratio. Moreover, under appropriate restrictions, the measures ensure that priority is given to the poorest among the poor while targeting, monitoring and evaluating poverty alleviation programs. To assess the robustness of poverty comparisons to alternative choices of parameters, various stochastic dominance tests are developed (some of which are themselves novel contributions to the stochastic dominance literature). The empirical illustration documenting changes in sanitation deprivation in Bangladesh showcases the measures' ability to identify instances in which overall sanitation deprivation improved while leaving the poorest behind.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS9120 JAN 23, 2020
Intra-household inequalities have long been a source of concern for policy design, but there is very little evidence. The current practice of ignoring inequality within households could lead to an underestimation of both overall inequality and poverty levels, as well as to the misclassification of some individuals as regards to their poverty status.
... See More + Using a novel survey for Senegal in which consumption data were collected at a disaggregated level, this paper quantifies these various effects. In total, two opposing effects, one on mean and one on inequality, compensate each other in terms of the overall poverty rate, but individual poverty statuses are affected. Intra-household consumption inequalities accounts for 14 percent of inequality in Senegal. The authors uncover the fact that household structure and organization are key correlates of intra-household inequality and individual risk of poverty.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS9121 JAN 23, 2020
The Samoan Ministry of Health and the World Bank jointly conducted a cascade analysis to systematically identify the gaps and bottlenecks in the delivery of hypertension care (as a tracer condition for NCDs) and look at ways to address them.
... See More + The analysis looked at hypertension screening, diagnosis, treatment, and patient monitoring, and used blood pressure (BP) control as the indicator for treatment success. The study found that both the hypertension and obesity prevalence’s are still rising. There are large gaps in case finding as 39 percent of all hypertensive adults had not had a BP screen over 12 months. It also identified gaps in referral with 37 percent of hypertensive adults having been screened but not fully diagnosed. Among all the diagnosed hypertension patients in care, only one in 5 reached BP control, suggesting there are serious challenges with treatment. These gaps in care make Samoa’s hypertension cascade tumble: Overall, only 1 in 20 hypertensive adults benefits from effective treatment and reaches the BP target. Recommended actions fall into the areas of public awareness campaigns, service configuration at primary care facilities and in communities, recording and use of patient data, broadening of the scope of PEN Fa’a Samoa and scale-up, treatment adherence with a patient-centered care approach, and the continuous policy and program efforts required for addressing Samoa’s obesity and non-communicable disease epidemics.
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This note outlines some of the major gains that have been achieved in Afghanistan since the US-led intervention in 2001. The analysis is informed by comparisons to development progress and outcomes in other low-income countries over the same period.
... See More + Afghanistan remains mired in conflict and faces immense development challenges. However, donor and government programs executed in the context of rapid economic growth and sound macroeconomic management have supported rapid improvements in provision of basic public services and infrastructure over the past two decades. While progress has been uneven and data to assess progress is sometimes limited or unreliable, increased access to services and infrastructure has driven huge development gains, often far outpacing progress achieved in other low-income countries. Against many indicators, Afghanistan is now performing similarly to other countries at its level of incomes, while receiving similar levels of civilian aid. Development gains remain fragile, however, and continued international support will be required to avoid reversal of recent progress. Section two outlines the extent of international assistance to Afghanistan since 2001. Section three reviews economic performance and overall macroeconomic management. Section four shows how access to services and infrastructure has improved. Section five shows how improved access to services has led to major improvements in development outcomes, including for women. The final section highlights continued weakness in governance and the need for ongoing international support.
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Afghanistan currently faces a sea of uncertainty. Outcomes of the September 2019 presidential elections are not yet known, and preliminary results have been challenged.
... See More + Insecurity continues, with government and insurgent operations imposing an increasing burden in terms of civilian casualties. Negotiations between the US and the Taliban have recently resumed, but prospects for and the contents of any eventual political settlement remain unclear. In the meantime, the duration and extent of continued international security support is being questioned. While international grants continue to finance 75 percent of public expenditure, current aid pledges expire at the end of 2020, with some major donors signaling intentions to significantly reduce support. This context of uncertainty has fundamental implications for the economy, with growth and investment constrained by weak confidence.
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To accelerate growth and create jobs, the Western Balkans and Croatia will need faster economic growth generated by advanced industries and services that usually concentrate in cities.
... See More + Raising the competitiveness of leading cities will thus be the priority for growth and job creation in the region. At the same time addressing the challenges of places left behind will be increasingly important for shared prosperity and sustainable growth. European Union (EU) accession, technological changes, and globalization are most likely to create growth opportunities that will favor cities and their agglomeration economies. These trends, if left unchecked, are also more likely to increase spatial welfare disparities. This report advocates for a stronger focus on cities, especially capital cities and their metro regions, as engines of growth and job creation. It also argues for policymakers to focus on lagging regions to address spatial welfare disparities likely to increase with the concentration of people and economic activity in fewer places.
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