Population Contributions to Global Income Inequality: A Fuller Account

Abstract

Population processes are expected to contribute to global income inequality but so far, studies have mostly documented the contributions of changing population size. Such studies typically decompose global inequality trends into population size vs. income effects. We expand decomposition to cover population size, age structure and worker productivity, thus giving a fuller account of demographic influences. This expansion reveals a larger influence of population factors than previously recognized. Further, age structure (not population size) wields the larger influence and its acknowledgment helps consider international differences in dependency ratios. The implications and extensions of these findings are discussed.