Global inequality recalculated and updated: the effect of new PPP estimates on global inequality and 2005 estimates

The results of new direct price level comparisons across 146 countries in 2005 have led to large revisions of PPP (purchasing power parity) exchanges rates, particularly for China and India. The recalculations of international and global inequalities, using the new PPPs, show that inequalities are substantially higher than previously thought. Inequality between global citizens is estimated at 70 Gini points rather than 65 as before. This high level of inequality is confirmed by the results obtained from the new set of 122 national household surveys from around year 2005.     

Drawing a Line: Comparing the Estimation of Top Incomes between Tax Data and Household Survey Data

The Journal of Economic Inequality - The paper uses the flexibility of household survey data to align their income categories and recipient units with the income categories and units found in data...     

The Role of Environmental Accidental Risk Assessment in the Process of Granting Development Consent

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a procedure that must be followed for certain types of development before they are granted development consent. The procedure requires the developer to compile an environmental impact report (EIR) describing the likely significant effects of the project on the environment. A regulatory requirement in Slovenia is that an accidental risk assessment for a new installation should be a part of an EIR. The article shows how risk assessment (RA) related to accidental release of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) or a polyvalent alcohol mixture from a new planned unit of a chemical factory in the Alpine region of Slovenia was performed in the framework of an EIA for the purpose of obtaining a construction permit. Two accidental scenarios were considered: (a) a spill of 20 m³ of MDI or polyvalent alcohol mixture into the river Soča (the river runs close to the chemical factory) and (b) a fire in the warehouse storing the raw material, where emission of toxic gases HCN, NO_x, and CO is expected during combustion of MDI. One of the most important results of this case is the agreement among the developer, the competent authority, and a consultant in the field of EIA and RA to positively conclude the licensing process despite the absence of formal (regulatory) limit values for risk. It has been approved that transparent, reasonably uncertain, and semi-quantitative environmental risk assessment is an inevitable component of an EIA, and an essential factor in informed, licensing-related decision making.