Zoya Nissanov

On some extensions of the concept of growth incidence curves

This article proposes a decomposition of what Grimm (2007) called individual growth incidence curve into two components measuring the impact of structural mobility (measured through the traditional growth incidence curve) and of exchange mobility, respectively. It also suggests introducing a growth incidence curve that checks whether pure mobility was pro-poor. An illustration based on Israeli census data for the years 1983 and 1995 seems to confirm the usefulness of the proposed breakdown.

Reference Groups and the Poverty Line: An Axiomatic Approach with an Empirical Illustration

Abstract A recent trend in the study of poverty is to consider a relative poverty line, one that is responsive to the nature of the income distribution. We develop an axiomatic approach to the determination of an amalgam poverty line. Given a reference income (e.g., the mean or the median), the amalgam poverty line becomes a weighted average of the absolute poverty line and the reference income, where the weights depend on the policy maker’s preferences for aggregating the two components. The paper ends with an empirical illustration comparing urban and rural areas in the People’s Republic of China and India.

Income mobility and the middle class in Russia, 1995–2007

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the determinants of income mobility between 1995 and 2007, using the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE). The analysis uses the mixture model method and is carried out between and within income groups, defined on the basis of household income. The results of the within-group analysis suggest that the probability of remaining in the middle of the income distribution is greater than that of remaining poor or rich. However, if a household moves away from the middle group, the probability of falling into the bottom group is much higher than that of moving upwards.

On the Transition in Russia

This chapter provides a description of the economic situation in Russia during the transition period, looking at the main macro-indicators. The chapter describes also the database used in this study.

What Does the Middle Class Refer To

This chapter presents a survey of the economic and sociological literature on the middle class and reviews the various definitions which have been proposed to characterize the middle class. It also discusses the potential link between a strong middle class and sustained economic growth. The chapter ends with a brief review of the literature on the middle class in Russia during the transition period.

The Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Middle Class

This chapter attempts to find out whether the Russian society is stratified in groups which can be defined on the basis of income; and, if so, how many of such groups may be identified and what are their main socio-economic and demographic characteristics.

Bipolarization and the Middle Class in Russia

This chapter analyzes the determinants of the changes in income bipolarization in Russia between 1992 and 2008. The first section is a survey of the existing literature on bipolarization measurement.

Distributional Change and What Happened to the Middle Class in Russia

This chapter analyzes changes over time in the relative importance of the middle class, using data on the distribution of income in Russia between 1992 and 2008.

Income Mobility and the Middle Class

The RLMS data may be used to conduct a cross-section as well as a longitudinal analysis. Thus, when income groups are identified and all the individuals or households are allocated to these groups, the panel dataset allows one to examine mobility between and within groups over time.

On Polarization in Russia

In this chapter, the concept of polarization, rather than that of bipolarization, is described. This concept is different from that of bipolarization, first because it is assumed to capture the formation of any arbitrary number of local poles in the income distribution (see, Duclos et al. 2004).