MEDIUM-SIZED CITIES AND INCOME CONCENTRATION IN PARANÁ: the inverted curve of Kuznets

This article investigates the relationship between inequality and economic growth of the mid-sized municipalities of Paraná. For this, it checks for convergence of income distribution and the applicability of the Kuznets hypothesis for these counties in 1991, 2000 and 2010. This study used the methodology applied by Andrade and Serra (2001), who considered midsize municipalities those with a population between 50 and 500 thousand in 2010. To analyze the convergence and the Kuznets hypothesis, econometric panel data estimates were prepared. The main results indicate that in the midsize municipalities of Paraná there are no evidence of a convergence process of income distribution. In the other hand, the Kuznets hypothesis is confirmed. Therefore, the distribution of income and economic growth are related in time following the shape of an inverted "U".