Work, Income and Inequality: Payments Systems in the Third World

The main thesis of this book is that the system by which production, access to work and income from work is organized is of critical importance to the determination of income distribution and poverty. It is argued that this system-described as 'the payments system'-is neglected in much economic analysis. It is suggested that the often observed deterioration in income distribution as development proceeds, the so-called 'Kuznets curve, ' is due to the combined effects of economic and institutional changes. The essays in this book explore the impact of the payments systems on employment and income distribution in a wide range of different cases.