The difference is attributable to whether income variability is accounted for or not.5 Moreover some of the variation in income is predictable over the life cycle and in the short run - for example in agricultural production - so that current consumer expenditure is a better indicator of current welfare than current income and is also a better indication of long-term welfare because the smoothed level of consumption reveals information about past and future incomes (Lipton and Ravallion, 1995). Another rationale for using income measures in many countries stems from the fact that policies aimed at reducing poverty often provide some type of income support. As the report of the Canberra Group, an international expert working group which provided recommendations and proposals to the international community for improving the quality and comparability of welfare data, observed: "Policies to address problems of living standards usually focus on income in some form or other. In other words, income is normally the most objective proxy for economic well-being for policy purposes." (