A Skeptical Perspective on Income Redistribution and Poverty Reduction in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This paper challenges the widely-held idea that the distribution of income has become more equal in Sri Lanka in recent years and that the living standards of the poor have risen substantially. The survey data on income distribution is internally inconsistent and subject to so many biases that it is not possible to rigorously determine the direction or magnitude of the change in income distribution. More importantly, there is no evidence that the living standards improved for any major population segment during the period in which income is considered more equally distributed.