Cross-country disparities in welfare, 1970–1998

Abstract

In this study we explore the evolution and origin of international welfare inequality in a sample of 39 countries between 1970 and 1998. To achieve this aim, different theoretical results taken from the literature on personal income distribution have been applied to an additive decomposition of Sen's welfare index. In relation to the evolution of international disparities in welfare, the conclusions obtained vary depending on the inclusion in the analysis of population shares. In addition, cross-country productivity differences emerge as playing the major role in accounting for observed patterns of welfare inequality.