Distribution and Development

Most of the world's people live in "developing" economies, as do most of the world's
poor. The predominant means of economic development is economic growth. In this book Gary Fields
asks to what extent and in what circumstances economic growth improves the material standard of
living of a country's people. Most development economists agree that economic growth raises the
incomes of people in all parts of the income distribution and lowers the poverty rate. At the same
time, some groups lose out because of changes accompanying economic growth. Fields examines these
beliefs, asking what variables should be measured to determine whether progress is being made and
what policies and circumstances cause some countries to do better than others. He also shows how the
same data can be interpreted to reach different, even conflicting, conclusions. Using both
theoretical and empirical approaches, Fields defines and examines inequality, poverty, income
mobility, and economic well-being. Finally, he considers various policies for broad-based
growth.Copublished with the Russell Sage Foundation.