Who are the poor in Malaysia?: sensitivity to measurement of income

Cover: Who are the poor in Malaysia?: sensitivity to measurement of income

Income inequality and ethnic differences in income are important political issues in Malaysia. This paper uses 1976-1977 data on over 1,000 households in Peninsular Malaysia to show that estimates of the extent of income inequality and of the relative incidence of poverty are sensitive to several dimensions of income measurement. For example, when the definition of income is broadened to include nonmarket sources of well-being, inequality falls and the relative position of rural Malays improves. However, standardizing to remove variations in hours of work increases estimates of the proportion of rural Malays who are poor.

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  • Availability: Available
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 38
  • List Price: $20.00
  • Paperback Price: $16.00
  • Document Number: P-6719
  • Year: 1981
  • Series: Papers

This report is part of the RAND Corporation paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

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