On the Unequal Inequality of Poor Communities

Important differences exist between communities with respect to their needs, capacities, and circumstances. As central governments are not able to discern these differences fully, they seek to achieve their policy objectives by relying on decentral...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Elbers, Chris, Lanjouw, Peter F., Mistiaen, Johan, Özler, Berk, Simler, Ken
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, D.C. 2013
Subjects:	ANTI- POVERTY PROGRAMS BETWEEN- GROUP INEQUALITY COLLECTIVE ACTION CRIME DATA SETS DECOMPOSABLE INCOME INEQUALITY MEASURES DECOMPOSITION RESULTS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING WORLD DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES DISTRIBUTIONAL DATA DOWNWARD BIAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC REVIEW ECONOMIC STUDIES EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS EMPIRICAL LITERATURE EMPIRICAL MODEL EXPLANATORY POWER EXPLANATORY VARIABLES FUNCTIONAL FORM GINI COEFFICIENT GROUP INEQUALITY HETEROGENEOUS COMMUNITIES HETEROSKEDASTICITY HIGH INEQUALITY HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS IMPACT OF INEQUALITY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCREASED INEQUALITY INEQUALITY INEQUALITY DECOMPOSITION INEQUALITY ESTIMATES INEQUALITY LEVELS INEQUALITY MEASURE INEQUALITY MEASUREMENT INEQUALITY MEASURES LOCAL COMMUNITIES LOCAL LEVELS LOCAL POVERTY MEAN CONSUMPTION MEAN INCOMES MEAN LOG DEVIATION NATIONAL LEVEL PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLICY OUTCOMES POLICY RESEARCH POOR POPULATION SHARE POVERTY LEVELS POVERTY MEASURE POVERTY REDUCTION PUBLIC ECONOMICS PUBLIC GOODS PUBLIC WORKS REGRESSION ANALYSIS SOCIAL FUNDS TARGETED TRANSFERS TARGETING TRANSFER PROGRAMS WELFARE INDICATORS COMMUNITIES HEADCOUNT INDEX POVERTY PROGRAMS RURAL COMMUNITIES SELECTION BIAS URBAN AREAS WELFARE INDICATORS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/05/4976897/unequal-inequality-poor-communities-unequal-inequality-poor-communities http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14016

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Summary:	Important differences exist between communities with respect to their needs, capacities, and circumstances. As central governments are not able to discern these differences fully, they seek to achieve their policy objectives by relying on decentralized mechanisms that use local information. However, household and individual characteristics within communities can also vary substantially. A growing theoretical literature suggests that inequality within communities can influence policy outcomes, and that this influence could be harmful or helpful, depending on the circumstances. Empirical investigations into the impact of inequality have, to date, largely been held back by a lack of systematic evidence on community-level inequality. The authors use household survey and population census data to estimate per capita consumption inequality within communities in three developing countries: Ecuador, Madagascar, and Mozambique. Communities are found to vary markedly from one another in terms of the degree of inequality they exhibit. The authors also show that there should be no presumption that inequality is less severe in poor communities. They argue that the kind of community-level inequality estimates generated in this paper can be used in designing and evaluating decentralized antipoverty programs.

On the Unequal Inequality of Poor Communities

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