A persistent puzzle in the debate over globalization is the gap between econ omis s' assessments of the aggr gate benefits of the process and th more pessimistic assessments that are typical of the general public?or at least typical of the debate among the vocal subset of the public that expresses opinions on the topic. Study after study confirms the benefits for poor countries of integrating into the world economy, albeit placing different degrees of emphasis on the importance of initial conditions and institutional endowments in achieving growth and poverty reduction.1 Yet public perceptions of the globalization process? reported in opinion polls and reflected in public demonstrations in cities such as Seattle, Prague, and Porto Alegre?are much more negative.2 Analyses of trends based on aggregate, income-based measures provide impor tant benchmarks for assessing the impact of globalization on poverty and inequality. The research presented in this paper complements these benchmarks by using alternative measures to highlight different trends. These trends include short-term movements in and out of poverty, changes in the distribution over the life or earnings cycle, distributional shifts at the sector and cohort level, the role of relative as well as absolute differences, and changes in reported well-being.