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62 publications found, searching for 'Ajit Zacharias '

  • Public Policy Brief No. 126 November 06, 2012

    Εργασία, οικιακή παραγωγή και χρονικές απαιτήσεις

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    Δεν μπορούμε να εκτιμήσουμε επαρκώς πόση πολύ ή πόση λίγη πρόοδος έχει γίνει για την αντιμετώπιση της κατάστασης των πιο ευάλωτων στις κοινωνίες μας, ή να παρέχουμε σωστή καθοδήγηση στους χαράκτες πολιτικής που στοχεύουν στη βελτίωση των ικανοτήτων του κάθε ατόμου και νοικοκυριού να επιτύχει ένα βασικό βιοτικό επίπεδο, αν δεν διαθέτουμε ένα αξιόπιστο μέσο […]

    Download Κείμενο Δημόσιας Πολιτικής No. 126 PDF (1.02 MB)
  • One-Pager No. 34 October 04, 2012

    Uncovering the Hidden Poor

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    Standard poverty measurements assume that all households and individuals have enough time to engage in the unpaid cooking, cleaning, and caregiving that are essential to attaining a bare-bones standard of living. But this assumption is false. With the support of the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labour Organization, Senior Scholars Rania Antonopoulos and […]

    Download One Pager No. 34 PDF (74.08 KB)
  • One-Pager No. 34 October 04, 2012

    Αποκαλύπτοντας τους αόρατους φτωχούς

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    Τα τυπικά πρότυπα για τη μέτρηση της φτώχειας υποθέτουν ότι όλα τα νοικοκυριά και τα άτομα διαθέτουν αρκετό χρόνο για να ασχοληθούν επαρκώς με τις ανάγκες των μελών του νοικοκυριού (μαγείρεμα, καθάρισμα, φροντίδα των παιδιών, κοκ), καθήκοντα που είναι απολύτως αναγκαία για την επίτευξη ενός ελάχιστου βιοτικού επιπέδου. Αλλά αυτή η υπόθεση είναι ψευδής. Με […]

    Download Μονοσέλιδο Νο. 34 PDF (397.17 KB)
  • Research Project Report August 16, 2012

    Why Time Deficits Matter

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    Customarily, income poverty incidence is judged by the ability of individuals and households to gain access to some level of minimum income based on the premise that such access ensures the fulfillment of basic material needs. However, this approach neglects to take into account the necessary (unpaid) household production requirements without which basic needs cannot […]

    Download Research Project Report, August 16, 2012 PDF (1.70 MB)
  • Working Paper No. 703 January 06, 2012

    A Comparison of Inequality and Living Standards in Canada and the United States Using an Expanded Measure of Economic Well-Being

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, Selçuk Eren, Andrew Sharpe, and Elspeth Hazell
    Abstract

    We use the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-being (LIMEW), the most comprehensive income measure available to date, to compare economic well-being in Canada and the United States in the first decade of the 21st century. This study represents the first international comparison based on LIMEW, which differs from the standard measure of gross money […]

    Download Working Paper No. 703 PDF (597.15 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 690 October 05, 2011

    The Measurement of Time and Income Poverty

    Ajit Zacharias
    Abstract

    Official poverty thresholds are based on the implicit assumption that the household with poverty-level income possesses sufficient time for household production to enable it to reproduce itself as a unit. Several authors have questioned the validity of the assumption and explored alternative methods to account for time deficits in the measurement of poverty. I critically […]

    Download Working Paper No. 690 PDF (293.12 KB)
  • One-Pager No. 11 August 05, 2011

    Investing in Social Care Delivery

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim
    Abstract

    There is little mystery to explaining our current high levels of unemployment. The Bureau of Economic Analysis recently revised its figures on GDP growth, and revealed that not only was the recession worse than we realized, but recent growth rates have been overstated as well. The hole, in other words, was deeper than we thought, […]

    Download One-Pager No. 11 PDF (48.38 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 679 July 25, 2011

    The Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being, France, 1989 and 2000

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Selçuk Eren
    Abstract

    We construct estimates of the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being for France for the years 1989 and 2000. We also estimate the standard measure of disposable cash income (DI) from the same data sources. We analyze overall trends in the level and distribution of household well-being using both measures for France as a whole […]

    Download Working Paper No. 679 PDF (2.85 MB)
  • Working Paper No. 667 April 20, 2011

    The Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being, Great Britain, 1995 and 2005

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Selçuk Eren
    Abstract

    We construct estimates of the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being for Great Britain for the years 1995 and 2005. We also produce estimates of the official British measures HBAI (from the Department for Work and Pensions annual report titled “Households below Average Income”) and ROI (from the Office of National Statistics Redistribution of Income […]

    Download Working Paper No. 667 PDF (1.01 MB)
  • Working Paper No. 610 August 13, 2010

    Investing in Care

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim
    Abstract

    Massive job losses in the United States, over eight million since the onset of the “Great Recession,” call for job creation measures through fiscal expansion. In this paper we analyze the job creation potential of social service–delivery sectors—early childhood development and home-based health care—as compared to other proposed alternatives in infrastructure construction and energy. Our […]

    Download Working Paper No. 610 PDF (1.65 MB)
  • Public Policy Brief No. 108 February 01, 2010

    Why President Obama Should Care About “Care”: An Effective and Equitable Investment Strategy for Job Creation

    Rania Antonopoulos, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim
    Abstract

    In his State of the Union address President Obama acknowledged that “our most urgent task is job creation”—that a move toward full employment will lay the foundation for long-term economic growth and ensure that the federal government creates the necessary conditions for businesses to expand and hire more workers. According to a new study by […]

    Download Public Policy Brief No. 108, 2010 PDF (647.98 KB)
  • Research Project Report November 16, 2009

    Has Progress Been Made in Alleviating Racial Economic Inequality?

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    Reports of a postracial society may be premature. Studies continue to show wide racial gaps in income and, especially, wealth; although there is some evidence that income gaps have shrunk over the past half century, wealth inequality is large and persistent. In this report, the authors examine trends in economic well-being between 1959 and 2007 […]

    Download LIMEW Report, November 2009 PDF (223.92 KB)
  • Policy Notes June 16, 2009

    Special Report: Who Gains from President Obama’s Stimulus Package … And How Much?

    Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim
    Abstract

    In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a preliminary assessment of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a package of transfers and tax cuts that is expected to provide relief to low-income and vulnerable households especially hurt by the economic crisis, while at the same time […]

    Download Special Report, June 12, 2009 PDF (446.17 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 568 June 04, 2009

    Distributional Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

    Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim
    Abstract

    Over the last two decades, those at the bottom of the income scale have seen their incomes stagnate, while those at the top have seen theirs skyrocket; without intervention, the recession that began in December 2007 was likely to exacerbate this trend. Will the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) be able to […]

    Download Working Paper No. 568 PDF (350.09 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 566 May 20, 2009

    Caste and Wealth Inequality in India

    Ajit Zacharias, and Vamsi Vakulabharanam
    Abstract

    In this paper, we conduct the novel exercise of analyzing the relationship between overall wealth inequality and caste divisions in India using nationally representative surveys on household wealth conducted during 1991–92 and 2002–03. According to our findings, the groups in India that are generally considered disadvantaged (known as Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes) have, as […]

    Download Working Paper No. 566 PDF (177.48 KB)
  • Research Project Report April 09, 2009

    New Estimates of Economic Inequality in America, 1959—2004

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    In this latest LIMEW report, the authors present new evidence on the pattern of economic inequality in the United States that indicates higher inequality in 2004 than in 1959. According to the LIMEW, there was a surge in inequality between 1989 and 2000 that reflects the large increase in income from wealth for the top […]

    Download LIMEW Report, April 2009 PDF (434.52 KB)
  • Research Project Report February 19, 2009

    What Are the Long-Term Trends in Intergroup Economic Disparities?

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    Over the last half century, government policy has had an important hand in alleviating disparities among population subgroups in the United States; for example, special tax treatment for families with children has meant an improvement in the well-being of single mothers, and Medicare and Social Security have been the driving force in improving well-being among […]

    Download LIMEW Report, February 2009 PDF (430.00 KB)
  • Research Project Report February 03, 2009

    Postwar Trends in Economic Well-Being in the United States,1959–2004

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    The Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW) is a more comprehensive measure than either gross money income or extended income because it includes estimates of public consumption and household production, as well as the long-run benefits from the ownership of wealth. As a result, it provides a picture of economic well-being in the United […]

    Download LIMEW Report, February 2009 PDF (639.69 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 556 January 29, 2009

    Long-Term Trends in the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW), United States, 1959–2004

    Edward N. Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, and Thomas Masterson
    Abstract

    The motivation to construct the LIMEW in lieu of relying on the official measures of well-being is to provide a more comprehensive measure of economic inequality that will also show the disparities among key demographic groups. The authors of this new working paper show that the LIMEW provides a perspective on disparities among population subgroups […]

    Download Working Paper No. 556 PDF (705.76 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 496 May 01, 2007

    Gender Disparities in Employment and Aggregate Profitability in the United States

    Ajit Zacharias, and Melissa Mahoney
    Abstract

    We explore the relationships between aggregate profitability and women’s growing share of market work in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s. Using decomposition analysis and counterfactuals, we investigate whether the contribution of the declining wage share to the upswing in profitability was aided by the growing incorporation of women into the workforce. Results […]

    Download Working Paper No. 496 PDF (425.61 KB)
  • Research Project Report April 30, 2007

    How Well Off Are America’s Elderly?

    Hyunsub Kum, Edward N. Wolff, and Ajit Zacharias
    Abstract

    Given the aging of the American population and the widening gap between rich and poor—not to mention the controversy surrounding the future viability of Social Security—the economic welfare of the elderly is an extremely topical issue. This report provides a new look at America’s elderly, and shows that the official measures drastically understate their level […]

    Download LIMEW Report, April 2007 PDF (2.93 MB)
  • Working Paper No. 487 January 09, 2007

    Class Structure and Economic Inequality

    Edward N. Wolff, and Ajit Zacharias
    Abstract

    Existing empirical schemas of class structure do not specify the capitalist class in an adequate manner. We propose a schema in which the specification of capitalist households is based on wealth thresholds. Individuals in noncapitalist households are assigned class locations based on their position in the labor process. The schema is designed to address the […]

    Download Working Paper No. 487 PDF (540.50 KB)
  • Research Project Report December 04, 2006

    Wealth and Economic Inequality

    Edward N. Wolff, and Ajit Zacharias
    Abstract

    This report argues that wealth is an integral aspect of economic well-being. The authors combine income and net worth to demonstrate the importance of wealth inequalities in shaping overall economic inequality and defining the disparities among population subgroups. Conventional measures of household economic well-being do not adequately reflect the advantages of asset ownership or the […]

    Download LIMEW Report, December 2006 PDF (336.92 KB)
  • Working Paper No. 466 August 08, 2006

    Net Government Expenditures and the Economic Well-Being of the Elderly in the United States, 1989–2001

    Hyunsub Kum, Edward N. Wolff, and Ajit Zacharias
    Abstract

    We examine the economic well-being of the elderly, using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW). Compared to the conventional measures of income, the LIMEW is a comprehensive measure that incorporates broader definitions of income from wealth, government expenditures, and taxes. It also includes the value of household production. We find that the elderly […]

    Download Working Paper No. 466 PDF (344.74 KB)

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Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000
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The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986 through the generous support of Bard College trustee Leon Levy, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. The Levy Institute is independent of any political or other affiliation, and encourages diversity of opinion in the examination of economic policy issues while striving to transform ideological arguments into informed debate.