01774cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF005294 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451870558 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL de Carvalho Filho, Irineu. The Myth of Post-Reform Income Stagnation : Evidence from Brazil and Mexico / Irineu de Carvalho Filho, Marcos Chamon. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2008. 1 online resource (52 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students Economic policies are often judged by a handful of statistics, some of which may be biased during periods of change. We estimate the income growth implied by the evolution of food demand and durable good ownership in post-reform Brazil and Mexico, and find that changes in consumption patterns are inconsistent with official estimates of near stagnant incomes. That is attributed to biases in the price deflator. The estimated unmeasured income gains are higher for poorer households, implying marked reductions in "real" inequality. These findings challenge the conventional wisdom that post-reform income growth was low and did not benefit the poor. Mode of access: Internet Chamon, Marcos. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2008/197 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2008/197/001.2008.issue-197-en.xml IMF e-Library