Income distribution, employment and economic growth : issues in a development planning framework with application to the economy of Fiji

Planning systems for economic development have been adopted by many countries (in more or less sophisticated forms) as a means of formalising national objectives, allocating scarce resources to achieve those objectives, and judging the relative merits of development policies. Recent literature in development economics stresses that 'economic development' involves more than achieving a satisfactory growth of conventionally measured per capita incomes: it also requires a reduction in unemployment and a reduction in the degree of inequality of income distribution. The challenge laid down to planners by the new development economics is to incorporate explicit mechanisms for dealing with these issues in their planning frameworks. This thesis sets out to contribute to this task by providing an analysis of certain key conceptual issues and relationships involved in equity-oriented planning. It is divided into four parts.