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Several studies have used various datasets and methodologies to analyze the relationship between bilateral trade and income convergence among trading partners. However, most studies have not paid attention to the effect that income levels and nature of bilateral trade have on the speed of income convergence. In this paper, we argue that the income levels of trading partners and the nature of bilateral trade play important role in the relationship between bilateral trade and international income convergence. To account for the effect of income levels of trading partners, this paper presents an approach that explicitly accounts for bilateral trade among high-income (OECD) countries, bilateral trade between high-income and low-income (SSA) countries, and bilateral trade among low-income (SSA) countries. We also used total trade data for 25 OECD countries and 30 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1980-2018 to avoid the potential bias for selecting certain countries based on arbitrary percentage of trade relationship. We used the 2SLS estimations technique to avoid endogeneity problems due to the nature of the dataset. The paper finds that the bilateral trade-income convergence relationship for OECD to SSA is the strongest. This result throws light on the claim that the nature of bilateral trade between high-income and low-income countries promotes one directional knowledge spillover from high-income to low-income countries which enables low-income countries to adopt new technologies and grow faster than their high-income counterparts. Also, bilateral trade among OECD countries, which mostly comprises of differentiated products, promotes descent income convergence among them. However, bilateral trade among SSA countries has the least effect on income convergence. Findings of the study have important implications for bilateral trade among low-income countries and between low income and high income countries. First, if SSA countries want to develop and catch up with their rich counterparts, they should continue to promote free trade with high income countries by dismantling remaining protection policies. Second, the African Continental Free Trade Area's (AfCFTA) efforts to boost the manufacturing sector through industrialization is in the right direction to promote the production of more differentiated products in Africa which will create growth in income for member countries as they trade more. Finally, there is the need for SSA countries to increase investment rates and improve human capital accumulation to enable them to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and grow faster than their high-income counterparts, while bridging the income gap between them through trade. JEL Classifications: F11; F14; O33; O47 Keywords: Economic Openness; Income Convergence; Bilateral Trade; Economic Growth; 2SLS Estimator, INTRODUCTION The implications of international trade on income differential among trading nations have been professionally researched since the works of neoclassical growth theorists (Solow, 1956; Swan 1956) which generated the [...]

Financial inclusion is vital in economic development as it empowers families and communities to meet basic needs, such as nutritious food, clean water, housing, education, and healthcare. Financial inclusion is also a tool for hedging against extreme weather events, disasters, and health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, access to financial services has the potential to alleviate poverty, reduce income inequality, and stimulate economic growth and development. However, there is limited literature regarding the impact of financial inclusion at the household level. According to the latest World Bank Global Findex, the number of financially included adults has risen substantially in Tanzania due to the introduction of mobile money and baking financial inclusion. Based on Tanzania World Bank's Global Findex micro-data set for 2011, 2014, and 2017 surveys, this study uses the ordered probit regression model with endogenous treatment assignment to evaluate factors influencing financial inclusion and estimate the impact of financial inclusion on income in Tanzania. The available literature guided us in selecting the independent variables to include in the financial inclusion and impact models. The applied model allows for correcting for self-selection bias and endogenous effects associated with financial inclusion and income. Self-selection bias can occur when individuals choose whether to participate in a program based on their socioeconomic and demographic circumstances. Due to self-selection, participants often differ from nonparticipants in ways significant to the research, leading to a biased sample, which affects the generalizability of the research results. The results show that formal education and lack of money are the most crucial factor influencing financial inclusion and exclusion. Moving from financial exclusion to inclusion increased the probability of being in the higher income brackets. Personal finance education programs geared towards the most vulnerable groups would improve financial inclusion and income in Tanzania. Results from this study indicate that financial inclusion has a positive impact on income, and thus, it is crucial to enhance the scope coverage via more extensive and swift channels, such as mobile money and baking. Enhanced financial inclusion in Tanzania will lead to higher and quicker integration of the excluded community members into formal financial systems, thereby maximizing the effects of financial inclusion on the poor and the country's economic growth. JEL classifications: G21, O16 Keywords: Barrier, inclusion, income, finance, ordered logit, Tanzania Contact author's email address: aloyce_kaliba@subr.edu, INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT As defined by the World Bank (2018), financial inclusion allows individuals and businesses to access valuable and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs. Therefore, [...]

Studies (e.g., CBO, 2022; Chappell, 2019; Covert, 2016; Gordon, 2018; Johnston, 2021) show that inequality has been increasing in the United States for decades and that it is getting worse. One reason why this is happening relates to the skewed distribution of income over the past five decades. For example, in 1970, the bottom 20% of Americans received 4.1% of total income; the second quintile received 10.8%; the third quintile received 17.4%; the fourth quintile received 24.5% whereas the top 20% received 43.3%. But by 2021, the bottom 20% received just 2.9%; the second quintile received 8.0%; the third quintile received 13.9%; the fourth quintile received 22.6% whereas the top 20% claimed 52.7% (Statista Research Department, 2022). This pattern of income distribution has made America more unequal than comparable G7 countries (Zwart, 2019). This study is an exploratory investigation of the issues of inequality and distribution of income in America in an effort to understand why things are the way they are. It reveals that the level of inequality in America is higher than in comparable countries and still rising (Jolly, 2005; Klein, 2020; McKay, 2022). The study also shows that government policies and actions since the 1980s played the biggest role in widening the gap between America's wealthy individuals and everyone else. And since government actions have worked in the past to reduce the level of inequality, the author therefore suggests that it is about time to start implementing similar policies to avert the possible negative social, political, and economic impacts of extreme level of inequality. Keywords: Income inequality, US, workers union, gender, CEO compensation, Federal minimum wage, government policies, Covid-19 pandemic,, INTRODUCTION The author became interested in the issue of inequality vis-a-vis income inequality from teaching an undergraduate sociology course entitled: 'Social Stratification' for several years. As an academic discipline, sociology [...]

Financial inclusion is vital in economic development as it empowers families and communities to meet basic needs, such as nutritious food, clean water, housing, education, and healthcare. Financial inclusion is also a tool for hedging against extreme weather events, disasters, and health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, access to financial services has the potential to alleviate poverty, reduce income inequality, and stimulate economic growth and development. However, there is limited literature regarding the impact of financial inclusion at the household level. According to the latest World Bank Global Findex, the number of financially included adults has risen substantially in Tanzania due to the introduction of mobile money and baking financial inclusion. Based on Tanzania World Bank's Global Findex micro-data set for 2011, 2014, and 2017 surveys, this study uses the ordered probit regression model with endogenous treatment assignment to evaluate factors influencing financial inclusion and estimate the impact of financial inclusion on income in Tanzania. The available literature guided us in selecting the independent variables to include in the financial inclusion and impact models. The applied model allows for correcting for self-selection bias and endogenous effects associated with financial inclusion and income. Self-selection bias can occur when individuals choose whether to participate in a program based on their socioeconomic and demographic circumstances. Due to self-selection, participants often differ from nonparticipants in ways significant to the research, leading to a biased sample, which affects the generalizability of the research results. The results show that formal education and lack of money are the most crucial factor influencing financial inclusion and exclusion. Moving from financial exclusion to inclusion increased the probability of being in the higher income brackets. Personal finance education programs geared towards the most vulnerable groups would improve financial inclusion and income in Tanzania. Results from this study indicate that financial inclusion has a positive impact on income, and thus, it is crucial to enhance the scope coverage via more extensive and swift channels, such as mobile money and baking. Enhanced financial inclusion in Tanzania will lead to higher and quicker integration of the excluded community members into formal financial systems, thereby maximizing the effects of financial inclusion on the poor and the country's economic growth. JEL classifications: G21, O16 Keywords: Barrier, inclusion, income, finance, ordered logit, Tanzania, INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT As defined by the World Bank (2018), financial inclusion allows individuals and businesses to access valuable and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs. Therefore, [...]

The relationship between economic integration and income inequality is extremely contentious due to its complicated impact across key channels of globalization. This paper analyses the distributional effects of globalization through [...]

I. INTRODUCTION II. MAPPING THE LEGAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE GIG ECONOMY A. What Is a Gig Worker? Moving Toward a New Employment Classification for Workers in the Gig Economy [...], This Article breaks new ground by providing a conceptual framework to understand the law and economics of the gig economy (in particular, the "gig workers"), its impact on labor productivity and income distribution, and policy interventions that are required by the government and central bankers as technology-aided gig employment spreads across the globe. From a legal and regulatory perspective, the gig economy challenges both domestic and international employment frameworks related to labor law. From an economic perspective, the rise of the gig economy is likely to increase overall productivity. Increases in productivity arise from an increase in labor force participation and getting access to lower-salaried workers from across borders, leading to more specialization and standardization of work. At the same time, full-time employment in a gig type set-up may lead to lower income and economic vulnerability for workers in developed countries. Regulators will soon have to address the challenges associated with some workers getting displaced by technological disruption. There is a need to find ways to absorb these laborers through alternative employment, which may be achieved by governments working closely with businesses and training centers to impart necessary additional skills for the displaced workers. At the same time, for the spread of gig employments, there is a need to invest in ICT-related infrastructure, such as telecommunication and internet connection, particularly in emerging economies.

Many have attributed the recent unprecedented wave of redistribution in Brazil to national economic and political factors such as the commodities boom, changes in minimum wages or premiums to skilled labor, the rise of the Partido dos Trabalhadores and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and a commodities-driven economic boom. Yet much less attention has been devoted to the study of inequality at the subnational level, where trajectories of inequality across states remain incredibly varied. This article argues that Brazil's most recent democratic transition enhanced political competition in many Brazilian states, which in turn has contributed to the amelioration of inequality. Using an original time-series cross-sectional dataset covering the highly redistributive period of 1998-2015, this article finds that Brazilian states with higher political and party competition have lower levels of inequality than those with less competitive party systems. Muitos atribuiram a onda recente de renda redistribuicao no Brasil por fatores economicos e politicais nacionais como o 'boom de commodities,' cambios no salarios-minimos, premios mais baixos para mao de obra qualificada, e a ascensao do Partido dos Trabalhadores e o Presidente Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Embora, muito menos atencao foi dedicada para a pesquisa de desigualdade no nivel subnacional, onde niveles relativos de desigualdade atraves os estados permanecem incrivelmente variados. Esse artigo faz o argumento que a transicao democratica mais recente no Brasil aumentada competicao em os sistemas de partidos de alguns estados, que por sua vez contribuiu para a melhoria de desigualdade. Utilizando dados do periodo 1998-2015, assim como analise qualitativa um par de estados, Para e Rio Grande do Sul, esse artigo encontra os estados brasileiros com sistemas partidos mais competitivo sao mais provaveis para avancar politicais de sociais e ter niveles mais baixos de desigualdade que outros com sistemas partidos menos competitivos., Despite remaining one of the world's most unequal countries, Brazil has experienced an unprecedented wave of income redistribution in the twenty-first century. Substantial drops in income inequality prompted literature focusing [...]

Corruption can erode political trust and a well-functioning democratic system, but it is unclear whether perceptions of corruption are significantly associated with citizens' perceptions about the fairness of income distribution. This study thus examines the role of political trust in shaping the relationship between perceptions of corruption and perceived fairness of income distribution for East Asian countries. The findings show that perceived corruption has strong detrimental effects on political trust, and that those who have lower levels of political trust are more likely to perceive the income distribution as unfair in their countries. Causal mediation analysis results indicate that political trust plays an important role in mediating the negative effect of perceived corruption on perceived fairness of income distribution. Moreover, the results from examining the mutual causality linking corruption, political trust, and perceived fairness suggest that the reciprocal causal effects are also significant and robust. Keywords corruption, political trust, perceived fairness, income distribution, INTRODUCTION Corruption is a difficult challenge for the manifestation of political institutions, and many advanced and developing countries around the world are confronting it (Agerberg 2019; Chabova 2016; Maeda and [...]

The Kuznets curve initiated many economists to examine the deeper and further relationship between growth and inequality over the past sixty-five years. However, the results yet converge into one generalized growth-inequality relationship. As consequences, these disparities have derived into a complex debate for the relationship and have challenged researchers and policymakers as the broadening income inequality gap is the utmost difficulties the world economy is facing. This study re-examines the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and income inequality. Our paper employs the idea of the order of summability formalized by Berenguer-Rico and Gonzalo (2013 and 2014) to deal with nonlinear transformations of heterogeneous and persistent processes on a sample of 55 countries from 1980 to 2010. The co-integration technique can be generalized by defining balancedness and co-summability. Balancedness is achieved when the order of summability of a dependent variable in a postulated hypothesis equals the persistent and heterogeneous explanatory variables, possibly nonlinear. A co-summable relationship describes a long-run equilibrium that can be nonlinear when the errors have a lower order of summability (Nasr et al. 2019). The analysis of our study is focused on whether there exists nonlinearity in the long-run growth-inequality nexus. Suppose there is no evidence supporting nonlinear long-run relations between economic growth and income inequality. In that case, standard empirical specifications, which apply polynomial or threshold functions, can be seen as misspecified (Eberhardt 2019). The mean- and median-based subsampling summability results reject the null hypothesis of summability of order zero. Based on the summability results, we tested for balancedness, which is confirmed only for specifications with a constant term. For specifications where the balancedness is achieved, we tested co-summability and the results show that co-summability is rejected for all considered specifications. Our finding presents no evidence supporting the Kuznets inverted U-shape and challenges some of the previous results, which implies that conventional empirical specifications in the existing literature adopting polynomial or threshold functions are misspecified. Consequently, such policy implications based on misspecification should be taken with cautiousness. JEL Classification Codes: O47; O15; C23 Keywords: income distribution, economic development, summability, balancedness, co-summability, cross-country studies, INTRODUCTION A study conducted by Kuznets in 1955 and an inverted U-shaped relationship (so-called the Kuznets curve) between economic growth and income inequality was found (Kuznets 1955). Not too long [...]

Abstract Outside of direct fiscal policy effects, the rise in inequality may be attributed to the demand for highly skilled labor rising more rapidly than its supply, as well as [...]

Cocoa production is highly vulnerable to fluctuations in some weather parameters and efforts are now channeled at reducing farmers' vulnerability through provision of some adaptive strategies. This study analyzed the effects of climate change adaptation strategies on income inequality among Ghanaian cocoa farmers. The data were collected from cocoa farmers using multi-stage sampling method. Out of the districts where cocoa is grown in the Ashanti region, Ahafo Ano North district was randomly selected. The sampling proceeded with compilation of the names of the villages in the District where cocoa is largely grown. Although 379 cocoa farmers were interviewed with structured questionnaires, this study made use of 349 respondents with completed information on their sources of income. Data were analyzed with factor component income inequality decomposition and regression-based approaches focusing on the Gini coefficient. The analyses were carried out with Distributive Analysis Stata Package (DASP) software. The results showed that high temperature was 69.63% of the farmers in 2015, while 70.20% observed more crop pests. Cocoa farmers tried to adapt to climate change through regular spraying of cocoa (74.9%), planting of hybrid seeds (68.50%) and changing of planting time (66.10%), diversification of livelihood sources (70.60%), monitoring of weather through media houses (59.6%) and indigenous knowledge (59.3%). The results further showed high income inequality among cocoa farmers (Gini = 0.6838). Farmers indicated they were among others spraying cocoa regularly, planting of hybrid seeds and changing cocoa's planting time as means of adapting to climate change. Crop income source was inequality reducing having accounted for 55.34% of all incomes but contributed 48.37% of inequality. Other income sources that reduced inequality were livestock, non-farm wages and remittances. Farmers' incomes were significantly influenced (p JEL Classifications: Q12, Q54, N5 and N57 Keywords: climate change, adaptation, income inequality, gini-coefficient, cocoa, Ghana, INTRODUCTION The role of agriculture as a primary supplier of food and raw materials for industrial development in Africa is now seriously undermined by climate change. In absence of adequate [...]

Abstract In the last few decades, as Toronto neighbourhoods have become more diverse, they simultaneously have become more inequitable. Poverty and income disparity have increasingly become concentrated along neighbourhood lines. [...]

This study examines the impact of trade openness, poverty, and inequality on inclusive growth in developing economies, taking Jordan as an example. Using panel data from 1990 to 2015, it examines the relationship between trade openness policies, growth rates, poverty, and income inequality in various provinces of Jordan. The empirical analysis assesses whether trade openness policies and reforms have enhanced income equality, and reduced poverty across provinces. Further, within the framework of inclusive growth, the study explores how per capita income growth has changed after trade openness reform. Different econometric techniques, such as the generalized method of moments, fully modified ordinary least square, and dynamic ordinary least square, are employed to assess the relationship between trade openness, poverty, inequality, and inclusive growth. To determine the univariate properties of the series under investigation, two panel unit root tests, based on Levin, Lin and Chu (2002) and Hadri (2000), are implemented. Both aggregate and provincial level panel data are used. Furthermore, two panel cointegration tests are employed--Kao (1999) and Pedroni's (1999) residual cointegration-based tests. The empirical results show that trade openness has a positive and significant effect on inclusive growth, though it is substantially weakened by poverty and income inequality at the national and provincial levels. This inequality is the likely cause for the small contribution of trade openness to inclusive growth. The effect of trade on inclusive growth is significantly positive for all provinces, but the contribution of trade openness varies according to local and provincial factors. Consequently, this study recommends better policies for promoting sustainable and inclusive growth--policies that amend inequality and reduce poverty are more likely to enforce the positive effect of trade openness on inclusive growth. Finally, the study contributes to existing literature, and assists local and international policymakers in understanding the effect of trade openness on inclusive growth at the country and provincial levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is possibly the first attempt to analyze inclusive growth in Jordan. JEL Classifications: F1, F4, F6 Keywords: Inclusive Growth, Trade Openness, Inequality, Poverty, Developing Countries, Jordan Corresponding Author's Email Address: talah.arabiyat@htu.edu.jo, INTRODUCTION Rapid global economic and financial integration has motivated many developing countries to adopt trade openness to enhance inclusive growth and development. In fact, trade openness may benefit developing countries [...]

Income levels in the United States vary greatly by location. Larger cities generally offer higher wages and returns to education, but even cities of comparable size have substantial income disparities. [...]

Decades after the publication of his seminal paper, 'Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labor,' W. Arthur Lewis' contributions remain revered, relevant and contentious. Much of the discussion in the literature on Lewis' work focuses on the transfer of labor from the subsistence sector to the capitalist sector, and the attendant arrival at what has become known as the Lewis Turning Point. As a result, the deeper thrust of Lewis' paper is ignored and incorrect conclusions drawn about the Lewis model and its implications, especially as regards the subsistence sector, the importance of technology, and economic growth and development. This paper argues that the Lewis model supports the advancement of the subsistence sector for economic development, through technological advancement. Lewis' seminal paper is clear on this. This important aspect of the Lewis model is not well ventilated in the literature and undermines the broader importance of the model. In fact, technological advancement has been seen by some as a shortcoming of the model as it could stall the transfer of labor from the subsistence sector to the capitalist sector, and in turn hinder the process of reaching the turning point. Using the Cobb-Douglas framework this paper argues against this view and examines technological advancement in all sectors, with specific emphasis on the subsistence sector. In the process, the superficial importance attached to the possible stalling of the labor transfer process is debunked. Indeed, the analytical framework provided by the Cobb-Douglas framework, in addition to Lewis' description of his model, clearly shows how economic growth, and by extension development, continues in both sectors of the economy as a result of technological advancement. Surely, Lewis was more concerned with increasing the rate of savings, economic growth and development, and income distribution, as opposed to simply the transfer of labor. And what's more, Lewis clearly did not view the transfer of labor as the sine qua non of economic growth and development. Finally, as regards policy implications, this paper supports the view of the importance of technological advancement in the subsistence sector as essential to sustainable economic growth and development. JEL Classifications: F66, O1, O4, P1 Keywords: Economic Development, Economic Growth, Labor Corresponding author's email address: samuel.braithwaite@uwimona.edu.jm, INTRODUCTION A century after his birth, and more than six decades after the publication of his seminal paper, the scholarship of W. Arthur Lewis remains revered, relevant and contentious. Lewis' [...]

By using unique administrative personal income tax data covering the population of a middle-sized Chinese city from 2009 to 2013, we explore how minimum wage adjustments affect wages of low-wage workers. The empirical evidence documented in this paper suggests a unique pattern of minimum wage regulation: while it permits wages to stay below the prevailing minimum wage threshold temporarily, it does encourage a higher growth rate for wages below the threshold. Overall, such a pattern might help lessen any downward pressures on employment, while ensuring that low-wage earners gradually get better off over time. (JEL J3, J6, P5), I. INTRODUCTION A vast literature investigates the impacts of minimum wage on inequality (e.g., DiNardo, Fortin, and Lemieux 1996) and employment (see the literature review by Neumark and Wascher 2007). [...]

In this paper, we analyze fiscal redistribution after the Great Recession. Are welfare states still effective in reducing income inequality? We use recent microdata from the Luxembourg Income Study to examine redistribution from transfers and income taxes, and the several underlying social programs that drive the changes in 31 countries. On average, we find that social transfers and income taxes reduce the Gini by 31%. In most countries, pensions are a dominant factor. After performing a number of sensitivity analyses, we conclude that the redistributive impact of the welfare state is still substantial. Keywords Welfare states * Social income transfers * Inequality * Gini coefficient JEL Classification H53 * H55 * 132, Introduction The overall tendency over the past two or three decades has been for an increase in income inequality in the large majority of rich nations. In OECD countries, the [...]

The link between happiness and overall inequality is best studied using an index that incorporates different aspects of inequality, and is measured consistently in different countries. One such index is the degree to which happiness itself varies among individuals. Its correlation with both happiness levels and social trust is substantially stronger than the corresponding correlation for income inequality. This remains so after allowing for bounded scale reporting, including a purely ordinal measure of dispersion. Moreover, the correlation is stronger for individuals who profess to care most about inequality. The link between happiness and inequality may thus be stronger than previously appreciated. (JEL I31, D6, D63, D31), I. INTRODUCTION Current research into the impact of inequality on happiness is focused on income inequality, typically using the Gini coefficient of income as a proxy for the level of [...]

One potential consequence of rising top-income concentration is borrowing by less-affluent households attempting to maintain relative living standards. This paper evaluates the 'keeping up with the Joneses 'phenomenon, examining the responsiveness of payment-to-income ratios for different debt types across the income distribution to changes in income among affluent households. The analysis provides evidence for the responsiveness of debt to rising top incomes. Middle- and upper-middle-income households take on more housing-related debt and have higher payments in places with higher top-income levels. Among lower-income households non-mortgage borrowing and debt payments decline, consistent with restrictions in the supply of credit. (JEL D63, D14), I. INTRODUCTION Rising levels of income inequality have long been recognized by researchers in the United States and other wealthy countries (Morelli, Smeeding, and Thompson 2015). High-level policymakers are increasingly [...]

The explosion of research and policy interest in the problem of inequality in recent years has focused primarily on the distribution of income across individuals or households. This research has [...]

We investigate the relationship between economic growth and top income inequality under the influence of human and physical capital accumulation, using an annual panel of U.S. state-level data. Our analysis is based upon the 'unified' framework offered by Galor and Moav (2004) while the empirics account for cross-section dependence, parameter heterogeneity, and endogeneity, in nonstationary series. We conclude that changes in inequality do not influence growth, neither in the short run nor in the long run in the United States as a whole in the 1929-2013 period. Our findings are robust to the inclusion of overall income inequality measures. These findings provide support for the theoretical prediction of the unified theory of inequality and growth, according to which the growth effect of inequality becomes insignificant in the latest stages of economic development that the United States experiences during our period of investigation. Therefore, future policies aiming at moderating the concentration at the upper end of income distribution are not likely to have adverse growth consequences in developed countries such as the United States. (JEL 121, 047, C23), I. INTRODUCTION During the last decades, the United States witnessed sustained economic growth while a parallel rise in income inequality is well documented (Piketty and Saez 2003, 2006). According to [...]

The decline in Latin America's skill premium and income inequality during the 2000s was partly driven by an economic expansion that favored low-skill-intensive service sectors. Evidence shows inequality becomes countercyclical in the 2000s, and unlike previous expansions, the boom was concentrated on services while manufacturing lagged behind. I build an open economy general equilibrium model that features a low-skill-intensive nontradable sector. The model suggests that favorable shocks to commodity prices and international interest rate spreads, such as those that buffeted Latin America in the 2000s, account for about a fifth of the observed decline in the skill premium. (JEL D31, E32, F41, 015, 054), I. INTRODUCTION At least since the first half of the twentieth century, Latin America has been the most unequal region in the world (Williamson 2010). It is well known, however, [...]

ABSTRACT This paper estimates the dampening effect of rising inequality on growth effects on poverty rates using the U.S. county level data. According to the 'growth elasticity' argument, rising inequality [...]

Inequality has become the defining idea of the early 21st Century. Unusually--for an economic concept--it has captured the public imagination. Yet what have been the political and legislative forces that [...]

Since obtaining independence from British rule in 1947, the central government of India has attempted to reduce the economic disparities that historically characterized the diverse States that now fell under its control. However, because all parts of the country are not equally well endowed with the physical and human resources needed to take advantage of growth opportunities, these disparities have actually increased, causing concern regarding the sustainability of continued growth. The author surveys the nature and intensity of these disparities and highlights the extent to which successive Five Year Plans have been effective in reducing inter-state disparity and shows how development outcomes, in terms of the social and human development indicators, do not match the resources available within each State, be they financial or natural. While there is no blueprint of how to bring the poorer States to the level of the more prosperous States, efforts can certainly be made to encourage the poorer States to use their resources more effectively and to encourage them to create a business environment that is attractive to private investment. Key Words: India, Inequality of Indian States, Economic development, Growth, Human Development, I. Introduction Balanced regional development has always been an essential component of Indian development strategy since Independence. Since all parts of the country are not equally well endowed with the [...]

ABSTRACT Recent research has shown that labor productivity has fallen since 1975 in Latin American countries, a phenomenon that has taken place after countries undertook ambitious economic reforms and when [...]

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact violent crime has on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in a global sample of 62 countries over the period 1997 to 2012. Foreign direct [...]

ABSTRACT The literature that relates average income rise of the economy with increase in average income of the poorest population is well established. However poverty continues to be predominant in [...]