poverty

Economists who study international development often focus on measuring countries’ aggregate and per-capita volumes of output. However, the mix of industries and products — the diversity within an economy — is an important and under-appreciated variable in predicting potential growth, according to scholars at the Center for International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Disparities in personal wealth in America are often measured along the lines of gender, race and geography. As economic shifts continue, however, an emerging divide relates to the age of the household head. Recently the gap between older and younger households has widened dramatically, sharpening concerns that new generations of Americans may not enjoy the progress that previous generations did.

Women in the United States are often financially vulnerable after divorce. At risk are material assets, liquid assets and insurance benefits.

In the study of economic development, there is a general consensus that public infrastructure investments supporting private sector-led economic activities are essential for growth. However, questions remain about how countries with newly found natural resources such as oil might best spend revenues on infrastructure and avoid the “resource curse” — the tendency of economies focused on such resources to see slower, and narrower, growth.