Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Contributors -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Decomposing Changes in the Distribution of Household Incomes: Methodological Aspects -- 3 Characterization of Inequality Changes through Microeconometric Decompositions: The Case of Greater Buenos Aires -- 4 The Slippery Slope: Explaining the Increase in Extreme Poverty in Urban Brazil, 1976-96 -- 5 The Reversal of Inequality Trends in Colombia, 1978-95: A Combination of Persistent and Fluctuating Forces -- 6 The Evolution of Income Distribution during Indonesia's Fast Growth, 1980-96 -- 7 The Microeconomics of Changing Income Distribution in Malaysia -- 8 Can Education Explain Changes in Income Inequality in Mexico? -- 9 Distribution, Development, and Education in Taiwan, China, 1979-94 -- 10 A Synthesis of the Results -- Index -- Figures -- 3.1 Gini Coefficient of Equivalent Household Income Distribution in Greater Buenos Aires, 1985-98 -- 3.2 Hourly Earnings-Education Profiles for Men (Heads of Household and Other Family Members), Age 40 -- 3.3 Hourly Earnings-Education Profiles for Women (Spouses), Age 40 -- 3.4 Weekly Hours of Work by Educational Level for Men (Heads of Household), Age 40 -- 4.1 Macroeconomic Instability in Brazil: Inflation -- 4.2 Macroeconomic Instability in Brazil: Per Capita GDP -- 4.3 Truncated Pen Parades, 1976-96 -- 4.4 Plotted Quadratic Returns to Education (Wage Earners) -- 4.5 Plotted Quadratic Returns to Experience (Wage Earners) -- 4.6 Combined Price Effects by Sector -- 4.7 Price Effects Separately and for Both Sectors Combined -- 4.8 Occupational-Choice Effects -- 4.9 The Labor Market: Combining Price and Occupational-Choice Effects -- 4.10 Demographic Effects -- 4.11 Shift in the Distribution of Education, 1976-96 -- 4.12 Education Endowment and Demographic Effects -- 4.13 A Complete Decomposition.

5.1 Average Household Size by Income Decile in Urban Colombia, Selected Years -- 5.2 Change in Income from Changes of Returns to Education, Relative to Workers Who Have Completed Secondary Education: Male and Female Wage Earners in Urban Colombia, Selected Periods -- 5.3 Change in Income from Changes of Returns to Education, Relative to Workers Who Have Completed Secondary Education: Male and Female Self-Employed Workers in Urban Colombia, Selected Periods -- 5.4 Probability of Being Employed or a Wage Earner in Urban Colombia according to Various Individual or Household Characteristics, Various Groups of Household Members, Selected Years -- 5.5 Simulated Occupational-Choice and Participation Changes in Percentage Points by Percentile of Earnings for Urban Males and Females, 1978-88 -- 5.6 Simulated Occupational-Choice and Participation Changes in Percentage Points by Percentile of Earnings for Urban Males and Females, 1988-95 -- 5.7 Changes in Employment Rate by Income Percentile, Females in Urban Colombia, Selected Periods -- 6.1 Summary Decomposition of Changes in the Equivalized Household Distribution of Income -- 7.1 Changing Quantile Functions -- 7.2 Differences in Quantile Functions -- 7.3 Changing Lorenz Curves -- 7.4 Differences in Lorenz Curves -- 7.5 Household Quantile Curves: 1984 Baseline -- 7.6 Household Quantile Curves: 1989 Baseline -- 7.7 Quantile Curves: Simulated Values Minus 1984 Actual Values -- 7.8 Quantile Curves: Simulated Values Minus 1989 Actual Values -- 7.9 Lorenz Curves: Simulated Values Minus 1984 Actual Values -- 7.10 Lorenz Curves: Simulated Values Minus 1989 Actual Values -- 7.11 Household Quantile Curves: 1989 Baseline -- 7.12 Household Quantile Curves: 1997 Baseline -- 7.13 Quantile Curves: Simulated Values Minus 1989 Actual Values -- 7.14 Quantile Curves: Simulated Values Minus 1997 Actual Values.

8.1 Observed Change in Individual Earnings by Percentile in Mexico, 1984-94 -- 8.2 Change in Women's Labor-Force Participation by Education Level in Mexico, 1984-94 -- 8.3 Returns to Education for Men by Location, Education Level, and Type of Employment in Mexico, 1984 and 1994 -- 8.4 Effect of Labor Choices on Earnings by Percentile in Mexico, 1984-94 -- 8.5 Effect of Educational Gains on Earnings by Percentile in Mexico, 1984-94 -- 8.6 Effect of Changes in Returns to Education on Earnings by Percentile in Mexico, 1984-94 -- 8.7 Effect of Urban-Rural Disparities on Earnings by Percentile in Mexico, 1984-94 -- 9.1 Evolution of Income Inequality, 1979-94 -- 9.2 Elasticity of Spouses' Occupational Choice with Respect to Head of Household's Earnings -- 9.3 1979-94 Variation in Individual Earnings Caused by the Price Effect, by Centiles of the 1979 Earnings Distribution -- 9.4 Simulated Entries into and Exits from the Wage Labor Force -- 9.5 Simulation of the 1994 Education Structure on the 1979 Population -- 9.6 1979-94 Variation in Household Income Caused by the Price Effect, by Centiles of the 1979 Distribution of Equivalized Household Income Per Capita (EHIP) -- 9.7 Entries into and Exits from the Labor Force: Overall Participation Effect -- 9.8 Effects of Imposing the 1994 Education Structure on the 1979 Population -- 9.9 Effects of Imposing the 1994 Children Structure on the 1979 Population: Relative Variation by Centile of the 1979 Distribution of Equivalized Household Income -- Tables -- 1.1 Selected Indicators of Long-Run Structural Evolution -- 3.1 Distributions of Income in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.2 Hourly Earnings by Educational Levels in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.3 Log Hourly Earnings Equation Applied to Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years.

3.4 Hourly Earnings by Gender in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.5 Weekly Hours of Work by Educational Levels in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.6 Hours of Work Equation for Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.7 Labor Status by Role in the Household in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.8 Composition of Sample by Educational Level in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Years -- 3.9 Decompositions of the Change in the Gini Coefficient: Earnings and Equivalent Household Labor Income in Greater Buenos Aires, 1986-92 -- 3.10 Decompositions of the Change in the Gini Coefficient: Earnings and Equivalent Household Labor Income in Greater Buenos Aires, 1992-98 -- 3.11 Decompositions of the Change in the Gini Coefficient: Earnings and Equivalent Household Labor Income in Greater Buenos Aires, 1986-98 -- 3.12 Decomposition of the Change in the Gini Coefficient: Average Results Changing the Base Year in Greater Buenos Aires, Selected Periods -- 4.1 General Economic Indicators for Brazil, Selected Years -- 4.2 Basic Distributional Statistics for Different Degrees of Household Economies of Scale -- 4.3 Stochastic Dominance Results -- 4.4 Educational and Labor-Force Participation Statistics, by Gender and Race -- 4.5 Equation 4.2: Wage Earnings Regression for Wage Employees -- 4.6 Equation 4.3: Total Earnings Regression for the Self-Employed -- 4.7 Simulated Poverty and Inequality for 1976, Using 1996 Coefficients -- 4A.1 Real GDP and GDP Per Capita in Brazil, 1976-1996 -- 4A.2 PNAD Sample Sizes and Missing or Zero Income Proportions -- 4A.3 A Brazilian Spatial Price Index -- 4A.4 Brazilian Temporal Price Deflators, Selected Years -- 4A.5 Ratios of GDP Per Capita to PNAD Mean Household Incomes, 1976-96 -- 4B.1 Evolution of Mean Income and Inequality: A Summary of the Literature.

5.1 Decomposition of Total Inequality between Rural and Urban Areas, Selected Years -- 5.2 Labor-Market Indicators in Urban and Rural Areas, Selected Years -- 5.3 Changes in Sociodemographic Characteristics in Urban and Rural Areas, Selected Years -- 5.4 Earnings Equations of Wage and Self-Employed Male and Female Urban Workers, Selected Years -- 5.5 Earnings Equations of Wage and Self-Employed Male and Female Rural Workers, Selected Years -- 5.6 Marginal Effect of Selected Variables on Occupational Choice among Wage Earners, Self-Employed Workers, and Inactive Individuals for Urban Heads of Household, Spouses, and Other Household Members, and All Rural Workers, Selected Years -- 5.7 Decomposition Income Distribution Changes for Households and Individual Workers in Urban and Rural Colombia: Changes in the Gini Coefficient, Selected Periods -- 5.8 Mean Income: Effect of Change in the Constant of the Earnings Equation -- 5.9 Simulated Changes in Participation and Occupational Choice in Urban Colombia, Selected Periods -- 6.1 Evolution of Mean Household Income, 1980-96 -- 6.2 Evolution of the Socioeconomic Structure of the Population, 1980-96 -- 6.3 Evolution of the Personal Distribution of Income, 1980-96 -- 6.4 Individual Wage Functions by Gender and Area, 1980-96 -- 6.5 Household Profit Functions and Nonfarm Activities, 1980-96 -- 6.6 Simulated Evolution of Typical Incomes: Price Effect -- 6.7 Decomposition of Changes in the Distribution of Individual Earnings -- 6.8 Decomposition of Changes in the Distribution of Household Income Per Capita -- 6.9 Mean and Dispersion of Household Incomes according to Some Characteristics of Heads of Households -- 6.10 Occupational-Choice Behavior, 1980-96 -- 6.11 Simulated Changes in Occupational Choices, Whole Population -- 6.12 Simulated Changes in Occupational Choices, Rural and Urban Population.

7.1 Location of Actual Distribution of Per Capita Household Income, 1984 and 1989, 1989 and 1997.