Economic Development and the Income of the Poor: A Comment

In: The American journal of economics and sociology, Volume 49, Issue 1, p. 53-64

Abstract

Abstract. In their 1988 study of poverty Branco and Williamson suggested that the mean income of the poorest 40% of the population declines during the early stages of economic development. This result is, probably, due to the unusual indicator of economic development used by them (per capita energy consumption). It is shown that if per capita income in "Real Purchasing Power Dollars" is used as a proxy for a country's level of development, the mean income of the poorest 40% is a monotonically increasing function of the level of economic development (although the mean income of particular socioeconomic groups may decline).