James Ahiakpor raises some interesting points regarding absolute versus   
relative poverty.  He points to the relatively egalitarian distribution   
of income in Sri Lanka.  Sen reported that in India 1/3 of rural   
population is malnourished.  Sri Lanka with comparable income has no   
such problem of hunger. Yet Sri Lanka's food subsidies came to no more   
than 5% of GNP. possibly because of food subsidies, Sri Lanka has   
higher life expectancy than S. Korea.  
  
Inequality, by itself, has important negative consequences.  That idea   
is the central theme of my book.  For example, is a substantial   
literature on health that suggests that inequality has significant   
effects on health of the rich as well as the poor.  
  
James is correct that probably many people from Sri Lanka would gladly   
come to the United States.  Even so, happiness studies, for what   
they're worth, suggests that the richer countries do not experience   
more happiness.  
  
Michael Perelman