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Introduction / Maurizio Bussolo and Jeffery Round -- The impact of structural reforms on poverty : a simple methodology with extensions / Neil McCulloch -- Trade liberalisation and poverty dynamics in Vietnam / Yoko Niimi, Puja Vasudeva-Dutta, and L. Alan Winters -- Globalisation and poverty : implications of South Asian experience for the wider debate / Jeffery Round and John Whalley -- Globalisation in developing countries : the role of transaction costs in explaining economic performance in India / Maurizio Bussolo and John Whalley -- Globalisation-poverty interactions in Bangladesh / Mustafa Mujeri and Bazlul Khondker -- Poverty and policy in a globalising economy : the case of Ghana / Maurizio Bussolo and Jeffery Round -- Trade liberalisation and poverty in Nepal : computable general equilibrium micro simulation analysis / John Cockburn -- Globalisation and poverty changes in Colombia / Maurizio Bussolo and Jann Lay.

The consequences of globalization for the world's poor are uncertain and fierce rhetoric is dividing its supporters and detractors. The channels of effect of essentially macroeconomic shocks on the microeconomic position of individuals and households in poor countries are many and various. This book addresses three core issues: 1) what are the main channels of effect? 2) what are the lessons to be learned from policy measures to alleviate negative poverty consequences? and 3) do the proposed analytical approaches assist in providing a monitoring capability? This volume assesses the more easily quantifiable effects resulting from price and quantity responses in the goods and labour markets. It includes studies of Colombia, Ghana, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Vietnam. It uses key analytical approaches, most of which are based on numerical simulation methods employing models with different levels of complexity. These models capture the features of an economy, how it functions, and how it might respond to globalization shocks. The most important collective contribution of the authors is their establishment of directions and magnitudes of effect, based on empirical evidence.

The paper empirically explores the factors that could have accounted for the generally declining aid effort (defined as the generosity ratio, or the share of GDP given as aid) of bilateral donors over the last three decades. Annual panel data over 1970-2000 period for the 22 DAC members are used in a series of regressions. The findings suggest the existence of progressivity of aid in relation to donor income. There is also evidence of the economies of scale, in the sense that the share of aid in income decreases with growth in the size of donor country population. Domestic pro-poor tendency also appears to enhance donor generosity, and a positive 'peer pressure' effect is also observed. In addition, the extent of military adventurism of the donor is observed to have enhanced aid effort, just as also the size of government. But no discernible effect is detected for fiscal balance. On the political front, a greater number of checks and balances in the political system as well as the existence of polarization and fractionalization within the government are found to have enhanced aid effort while fractionalization within the opposition has the opposite effect. On the other hand, no discernible and consistent effect of ideological orientation of government is detected. Finally, the movement in the aid effort over time is found to differ between the G7 and non-G7 donors.