Looking Beyond Averages in the Trade and Poverty Debate

Looking Beyond Averages in the Trade and Poverty Debate

There has been much debate about how much poor people in developing countries gain from trade openness, as one aspect of "globalization." The author views the issue through both "macro" and "micro" empirical lenses. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Ravallion, Martin
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, D.C. 2013
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE POVERTY ADDITIVE EFFECTS ADVERSE EFFECTS ADVERSE IMPACTS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AGRICULTURE CONSUMERS CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR CPI ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY ECONOMIC GROWTH EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSES EXCHANGE RATE EXPORTS EXTREME POVERTY FAMILIES FARM INCOME FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL GROWTH RATE HEALTH CARE IMPORTS INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME LEVELS INFLATION INFLATION RATE INNOVATION INVOLUNTARY UNEMPLOYMENT LEARNING LIVING STANDARDS MACROECONOMIC STABILITY MIGRATION OIL POLICY CHANGES POOR POVERTY GAP INDEX POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY LINE POVERTY LINES POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY REDUCTION PRICE CHANGES PRIVATE CONSUMPTION PRODUCERS PRODUCTION FUNCTION PRODUCTION INPUTS PRODUCTIVITY PURCHASING POWER QUOTAS REAL INCOME RURAL POVERTY SOCIAL IMPACTS SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX TARGETING TARGETING MECHANISMS TARIFF BARRIERS TAXATION TIME SERIES TRADE LIBERALIZATION TRADE POLICIES TRADE REFORMS UTILITY FUNCTION VALUATION WAGE RATES WAGES WELFARE EFFECTS WELFARE GAINS WHOLESALE PRICES WORKERS WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION WTO
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/11/5504243/looking-beyond-averages-trade-poverty-debate http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14202

Description
Summary:	There has been much debate about how much poor people in developing countries gain from trade openness, as one aspect of "globalization." The author views the issue through both "macro" and "micro" empirical lenses. The macro lens uses cross-country comparisons and aggregate time series data. The micro lens uses household-level data combined with structural modeling of the impacts of specific trade reforms. The author presents case studies for China and Morocco. Both the macro and micro approaches cast doubt on some wide generalizations from both sides of the globalization debate. Additionally the micro lens indicates considerable heterogeneity in the welfare impacts of trade openness, with both gainers and losers among the poor. The author identifies a number of covariates of the individual gains. The results point to the importance of combining trade reforms with well-designed social protection policies.