High Levels Of Income Inequality Research Articles

Can Income Inequality Reduce the Happiness of a Healthy Population?

The relationship between health and happiness is well established. However, disability and the burden of disease can also affect the happiness of the local population. We argue that income inequality can worsen the positive effect of health on happiness levels. Using data from 136 economies from 2005 to 2019, we estimate a dynamic panel model that controls the endogeneity and simultaneity issues, and measure the effect of healthy life expectancy on happiness at varying levels of income inequality. We find evidence that healthy life expectancy is significantly and positively associated with happiness, however, at high levels of income inequality, this effect reduces. We shed new perspectives on the costs of income inequality.

Unequal Spatial Consequences of Abortion Restrictions in Texas, 2021-2023.

Objectives. To demonstrate the spatially uneven effects of abortion restriction laws in Texas. Methods. We used network analysis to determine the change in distance to the nearest surgical abortion provider for 5253 Texas neighborhoods after the passing of Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8; 2021) and the US Supreme Court's Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) decision. We identified associations between key measures of neighborhood socioeconomic context and change in distance to providers using multivariable linear regression models. Results. After the Dobbs decision, Texas residents experienced an average change in distance to the nearest provider of 457 miles (SD = 179). Neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage experienced the greatest increase in distance to abortion providers after SB8's passing, and neighborhoods with high levels of income inequality experienced the greatest increase in distance after the Dobbs decision. Conclusions. We document the rapidly changing abortion landscape in a highly restrictive state and show that women living in more disadvantaged and unequal areas are most affected by the increasing distance to providers. Public Health Implications. Our methods and findings will continue to be relevant in understanding the burden placed on women in areas where medical abortion has been restricted because of the Dobbs decision. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print May 23, 2024:e1-e10. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307652).

Economic complexity and income inequality in Russian regions

Although economic growth leads to a reduction in poverty, the growing income inequality and its possible consequences are of some concern. The level of economic complexity has recently been increasingly viewed as an important predictor of income inequality. In this paper, using pool and models with time fixed effects, the impact of the economic complexity index on income inequality in Russian regions for 2013 and 2015 was estimated. The results of the evaluation of econometric models show that regions with more complex economies showed a higher level of income inequality compared to others. The explanations for the effect obtained include an increase in demand for highly qualified labor as a result of the development of high-tech industries and an increase in wage differentiation between high-skilled and low-skilled workers, as well as the migration of high-skilled workers to economically more complex regions. The main conclusion is that economic complexity is a significant factor of the variation in income inequality and should also be taken into account while conducting economic and social policy in Russian regions.

Health system inequities in Lao People's Democratic Republic: Evidence from a nationally representative phone survey.

Despite substantial economic growth in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) over the past 20 years, high levels of income inequality and poverty persist and have likely been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we use novel survey data to assess the extent to which socioeconomic status is associated with access to quality care in Lao PDR. We utilised data from the Lao People's Voice Survey (PVS), which was designed to measure health system performance from the perspective of the population. The survey was conducted between May and August 2022. Primary outcomes of interest were having a usual source of healthcare, using a government health centre (rather than a hospital or private clinic) as the usual source for care, receiving preventive health services, experiencing unmet healthcare needs, the quality of recent healthcare visit, and confidence in accessing and affording healthcare when needed. Poverty was measured using household asset ownership. We used logit models to assess the associations between poverty and health system performance measures, and additionally assessed differences between these associations in urban vs. rural areas by interacting urban residence with poverty. Poverty was negatively associated with having a regular provider for care (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.45, 95% CI 0.26-0.78), receiving preventive health services (aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.37-0.80), and confidence in the ability to receive care (aOR 0.50, 95% CI 0.34-0.72) and afford care (aOR 0.50, 95% CI 0.34-0.73) when needed. Poverty was positively associated with using government managed health centres as a usual source or for care (aOR 2.16, 95% CI 1.35-3.48). Poverty was not significantly associated with user experience or perceived quality of care in the last visit to the health facility. No differences in the associations between poverty and access to quality care were found between rural and urban settings. The results presented in this article suggest socioeconomic disparities in health care access in Lao PDR despite major national efforts to provide universal access to care. Universal health care policies may not be reaching the poor and additional targeted efforts may be needed to meet their healthcare needs.

Fiscal multipliers and income inequality (The case of OECD countries, Russia and China)

This study assesses the impact of fiscal multipliers on the level of socioeconomic inequality in 38 countries based on data from the period 2007—2022 with the aim to explore causal relationships between the potential methods of public financial regulation and income indicators in the context of achieving sustainable economic growth. First the fiscal multipliers are estimated relative to GDP, then the obtained data is used to explain the level of income inequality across a broad range of countries. It is shown that the average level of wealth inequality directly influences the level of post-tax income inequality, therefore, addressing income inequality should not neglect other forms of inequality, parti cularly wealth distribution inequality; the effectiveness of fiscal policy has a reverse impact on the level of post-tax income inequality, indicating that a high share of the shadow economy, inefficient tax administration, and redistributive function of public finances contribute to high levels of income inequality . Budgetary instruments for poverty control, targeting, and the efficiency of budgetary expenditures can alter the level of income inequality.

Tracing environmental Kuznets curves: unveiling the interplay of inequality, urbanization, GDP and emissions in BRICS nations

In light of environmental challenges, the BRICS countries have stepped to the forefront of economic progress versus environmental sustainability debate. Not only has energy consumption increased rapidly in these countries, but the economic progress and urbanization, mainly driven by intensive fossil fuel production, have also led to higher levels of income inequality. The dynamics of the interplay between economic growth, urbanization, and income inequality on the one hand and environmental sustainability on the other have yet to be fully understood in the BRICS context. This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate by assessing a combination of three Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKC) based on the GDPpc-emissions nexus, the income inequality- emissions nexus, and the urbanization-emissions nexus. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ADRL) and Panel Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) models, we find an inverted U-shape EKC between GDP and carbon emissions, an inverted U-shaped EKC between income inequality and carbon emissions, and a U-shaped EKC between urbanization and carbon emissions. The inverted EKC between GDPpc and carbon emissions suggests that in the long run sustainable carbon reduction is possible alongside economic growth, but urbanization’s U-shaped impact on emissions might hinder this. Moreover, the inverted U-shaped relationship between income inequality and carbon emissions indicates a potential long-run trade-off between reducing both inequality and carbon emissions. Factors behind this relationship may vary significantly and include institutions- and country-specific factors, yet policymakers in the BRICS countries will do well attempting to better understand the dynamics behind urbanization and inequality as it will enable them to adopt more effective holistic policies aiming to improve energy efficiency, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and build economic systems contributing to faster economic growth, lower inequality and greater environmental sustainability.

Income Inequality and Economic Growth

This research investigates the relationship between income inequality, income distribution, poverty rates, and economic growth. The analysis results indicate that the independent variables, including the Gini Coefficient, Percentage of Income Received by Specific Groups, and Relative Poverty Rate, significantly influence economic growth. High levels of income inequality, uneven income distribution among societal groups, and high poverty rates all contribute to the slowdown of economic growth. Therefore, policies aimed at reducing income inequality, improving equitable income distribution, and decreasing relative poverty rates can help stimulate more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Is democracy affecting the economic policy responses to COVID-19? A cross-country analysis

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 8pt; line-height: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: '等线 Light'; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">How does democracy relate to the initial economic policy responses to Covid-19? Using a cross country analysis, we find that countries with a higher degree of democracy have stronger economic policy responses than their peers. However, when we separate monetary and financial policies from fiscal policy, democracy is not associated with the latter when we control for the income level of a country. Finally, for countries with lower levels of labor participation, high levels of income inequality are associated with weaker policy responses.</span></p>

The Effect of Terrorism on Income Inequality

Abstract Conflict research has recently found that increased inequality weakens institutional conditions, opening the door for terrorism. While this research often accounts for endogeneity, or the possibility of a reverse causal relationship, there has yet to be an empirical investigation of the impact of terrorism on income inequality. Using a sample of 139 countries between 1994 and 2018, we show that both domestic and transnational terrorism result in higher levels of income inequality. Our results are consistent for both pre- and post-tax and transfer inequality as well as multiple model specifications. Additionally, we explore multiple potential causal mechanisms that link terrorism and income inequality finding that the effect is, in part, due to terrorism’s negative effects on institutional stability, increased military expenditure, possibly to fund counterterrorism operations, and reduced foreign capital, especially for greenfield investment. Our analysis indicates a positive relationship between terrorism and inequality and the mechanisms that produce the effect, contributing to the terrorism and inequality literatures.

The impact of education on income inequality: A comparative analysis of Nigeria and South Africa

Nigeria is plagued with the problem of poverty, and this is exacerbated by the problem of income inequality. Inequality has also limited the opportunities of individuals in Nigeria as Valentine (1968) said that “the essence of poverty is inequality; in slightly different words the meaning of poverty can be said to be deprivation”. The Gini coefficient of Nigeria lies between 40 and 60% (Bakare A.S, 2012). Also, South Africa has one of the worst cases of income inequality in the World, As South Africa’s Gini index increased from 0.64 in 1995 to 0.69 in the year 2005 which is one of the highest in the world. Studies will be carried out on both countries to further understanding on the relationship between income inequality and Education. With the aid of descriptive and empirical analysis, this study aims at identifying factors that are responsible for the high levels of income inequality, with a focus on Education growth in Nigeria and South Africa. Both countries will be compared using time series data spanning from 1981 to 2016. The study examines the effect of education on income inequality in Nigeria and South Africa and examines if a long-run relationship exists between education and income inequality in Nigeria and South Africa. The Johansen Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model were applied. The result of the Johansen Cointegration shows that there is a long-run relationship between the independent variables –Inflation, Real Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Direct Investment and Primary School Enrollment rate in Nigeria and South Africa. Findings also attest to the impact of education on income inequality in Nigeria but not in South Africa as further research showed that the income inequality situation in South Africa was connected to racial segregation. It was concluded that the government should devote more attention to this dwindling sector so as to reduce the income gap in the Country.

Climate change and income inequality in Asia: how does institutional quality matter?

Asia – the most vulnerable continent to climate change – problematizes policy makers with its dual challenges of high income inequality and low institutional quality. This paper sheds light on the impact of climate change and institutional quality on income inequality for a panel data set of 35 Asian countries and territories over the period of 1990–2021. Results from estimations of Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) demonstrate that the climate change – proxied by temperature and precipitation – exacerbates income inequality, while improvement in institutional quality not only reduces it, but also lessens the harmful impact of climate change on income equality. Findings are robust with various proxies of income inequality. These results strongly confirm the important role of institutional reform in the context of rising climate change and high level of income inequality in Asian countries.

Income inequality convergence among EU regions

Economic inequality has increased in many EU countries in the past few decades. Yet efforts to assess regional disparities across the EU mostly concentrate on convergence in average per capita incomes, offering little analysis of how regional income is distributed. Using new data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) for 1989–2013, we test whether income inequality convergence has taken place among EU regions and assess which structural factors may affect the pace of this process. The analysis offers three findings. First, NUTS 2 regions are converging to a higher level of income inequality. Second, this process is significantly faster when regions share similar structural characteristics. Finally, there is evidence of a convergence-acceleration effect for regions receiving Cohesion Policy funds, suggesting therefore that these may be driving the convergence process.

Keep your head above water: Explaining disparities in local drinking water bills

Rising water bills across the U.S. underscore the need to understand the factors that contribute to disparities in local system bills. In this paper, we examine residential water bill amounts from 1,720 systems in four states in different regions of the U.S. (Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and Wisconsin) to (1) examine how local system bills at a constant consumption level (4,000 gallons per month or 15.14m3) for drinking water vary within and across states, as well as within combined metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and (2) study the relationship between local system bills and system-level characteristics. We find a high degree of similarity in median bill amounts between states but substantial variation within them at the MSA and local system scale. Our multivariate analysis suggests that municipally-owned systems are more likely to have lower water bills relative to for-profit systems, while factors such as purchasing water and having neighboring systems with high bills significantly correlate with higher water bills. Though we find that water systems with high levels of poverty tend to have higher water bills, our results also suggest that local systems that serve populations with higher levels of income inequality and higher proportions of non-White population tend to have lower water bills. These findings point to future research and data needs to better inform federal, state and local water affordability policy and underline the importance of examining and addressing water affordability at local scales.

Market structure and net determinants of turmeric marketing in Onitsha agricultural zone, Anambra state, Nigeria

A study was conducted to analyze the market structure and determinants of turmeric marketing in the Onitsha agricultural zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. The research aimed to understand the socioeconomic characteristics, market structure, factors influencing net marketing income, and constraints in turmeric marketing. The sample consisted of 160 intermediaries, including 80 wholesalers and 80 retailers, selected using multistage and random sampling methods. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Gini coefficient, multiple regression, and relative index techniques. The findings revealed a male dominance in the turmeric market, particularly among wholesalers, where 60.00% of marketers were men. This indicates gender sensitivity within the market at various levels. The market structure analysis showed Gini coefficients of 0.6866 and 0.7495 for wholesalers and retailers, respectively. These coefficients suggest a high level of income inequality in terms of sales margin and a concentration of sales among a small group of marketers, indicating the presence of imperfect competition in the market. Among the eleven independent variables included in the analysis, age, education, source of finance, and engagement in other business activities significantly influenced the net marketing income of wholesalers. At the retail level, household size, gender, engagement in other business activities, marketing experience, and product price were identified as factors influencing net marketing income. The constraints analysis revealed that online marketing, transportation costs, taxes, and local government charges were perceived as the main constraints at the wholesale level. On the retail level, the constraints were online marketing, irregular market days, and insufficient start-up capital. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the government and relevant agencies reduce taxes and charges imposed on marketers to alleviate their burden. Additionally, addressing the poor condition of roads is necessary for proper marketing in the region.

INCOME INEQUALITY, CLIENTELISM AND GOVERNANCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA.

Genuine redistribution of income is usually not commonplace in underdeveloped democracies. Instead, politicians in these democracies often target private, excludable and reversible benefits at the poor in exchange for electoral support. This electoral strategy often results in a situation where maintenance of political power or re-election becomes the focus of public policies instead of public welfare. This study investigated the main and interaction effects of income inequality and clientelism on government effectiveness in West African Countries from 1996 to 2020. The study objectives were achieved using pooled mean group (PMG) approach of the panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimation technique and the Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality test. Findings from the study revealed that clientelism enhances government effectiveness at higher levels of income inequality but inhibits government effectiveness at lower levels income inequality. The study findings also revealed positive relationship and uni-directional causality between income inequality and clientelism. The study concluded that government effectiveness which thrives on lower levels of income inequality and clientelism is beneficial to socioeconomic development; and that socioeconomic development and government effectiveness is interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

Inequality and informality revisited: The Latin American case

Despite the striking presence in many developing economies of the two distinctive features of high levels of income inequality and significant informal employment, the literature addressing the relationship between these features is scarce, especially for Latin America. In this paper, we highlight the ambiguous relationship between inequality and informality by identifying the various factors that may affect it. We then empirically test this relationship using panel data pertaining to Latin America between 1990–2018. In these context‐specific conditions, our findings reveal a positive association between formalization in the labour market and labour income equality.

Digital Economy, Industrial Structure and Income Inequality

As a distinctive feature of contemporary social development, digital economy will inevitably affect the typical fact of income inequality. This paper theoretically sorts out the influence mechanism between digital economy, industrial structure and income inequality, and conducts empirical research based on cross-border panel data from 49 countries from 2010 to 2020. The results show that the development of digital economy significantly alleviates income inequality. The digital economy indirectly narrows the income gap by promoting the advanced and rational industrial structure; The mitigating effect of the digital economy in countries with higher levels of income inequality is more pronounced than in countries with low levels of income inequality, but when the country's income distribution falls into extreme inequality, the positive effect of the digital economy in reducing income inequality is minimal.

Modelling agricultural innovations as a social-ecological phenomenon

Agricultural innovations involve both social and social-ecological dynamics where outcomes emerge from interactions of innovation actors embedded within their ecological environments. Neglecting the interconnected nature of social-ecological innovations can lead to a flawed understanding and assessment of innovations. In this paper, we present an empirically informed, stylized agent-based model of agricultural innovation systems in Mali, West Africa. The study aimed to understand the emergence of food security and income inequality outcomes through two distinct model structures: top-down, aid-driven (exogenous) innovation and bottom-up, community-driven (endogenous) innovation. Our research questions were: i) How does the inclusion of social-ecological interactions in the model affect food security and income inequality outcomes? ii) How do exogenous and endogenous mechanisms influence food insecurity and income inequality? iii) What are the conditions under which exogenous and endogenous mechanisms would improve food security? The structural design of the model was based on a combination of theory, empirics, and mapping of social-ecological dynamics within innovation systems. Using the Social-Ecological Action Situation framework, we mapped the social, social-ecological, and ecological interactions that jointly produce food security outcomes. The exploratory model analysis reveals three key insights: i) Incorporation of social-ecological interactions influences model outcomes. Scenarios with social-ecological interactions showed a stronger relationship between income inequality and food security, lower levels of food security, and higher levels of income inequality than scenarios with social interactions. ii) Endogenous mechanism leads to higher food security and income inequality than the exogenous mechanism. iii) Bidirectional outreach is more effective than unidirectional outreach in improving food security. Inclusion of social-ecological dynamics and interactions such as the role of climate risk perception, social learning and formation of innovation beliefs and desires is key for modelling and analysis of agricultural innovations.

Income Inequality and Redistribution in Sub-Saharan Africa

AbstractA strand of the political economy literature emphasizes the effect of income inequality on growth and poverty, which materialises through redistribution. The theoretical expectation postulated by standard economic theory is that high inequality would lead to higher redistribution via the collective action of the median voter. The empirical literature testing the median voter theorem has been conducted in the context of industrialised economies. In this article, we examine the median voter hypothesis with specific reference to SSA, a region characterised by high levels of income inequality and limited redistribution. We adopt an instrumental variable approach to unpack the determinants and plausible mechanisms underpinning this relationship. In the article, we account for the effect of omitted top income earners in income inequality estimates, given their weight in the shape of the income distribution and their influence in redistributive policies. Overall, we find a positive relationship between inequality and redistribution in SSA, especially among middle-income countries. Further examination reveals that the abundance of natural resource rents seems to be the driving force affecting tax policy choices, which in turn exacerbates income inequality and undermines progressive redistribution. Thus, in assessing the relationship between inequality and redistribution, our results do not provide strong evidence to support the propositions of the median voter theorem, but instead, they call for alternative interpretations that seem to align more closely to the existence of multiple steady states.

Revisiting the finance-growth nexus in sub-Saharan Africa: Does the level of income inequality matter?

In this paper, the modulating effect of income inequality in the finance–growth nexus using data from 29 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries is examined. The study examines i) whether financial development still spurs economic growth in the studied countries, and ii) whether income inequality modulates the effect of financial development on economic growth. Three proxies of financial development and four income inequality indicators are used. The financial development indicators used include the financial development index, financial institutions index, and financial markets index, while income inequality is measured by the Palma ratio, the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index, as well as the composite inequality (Comp) derived from the principal component analysis (PCA). The Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) has been used to examine this linkage. The study found that, on the whole, the beneficial effect of financial sector development on economic growth in the studied countries is weak, at best. This finding has been corroborated by the results of the interaction models, which show that income inequality interacts with financial development to yield a net negative effect on economic growth in four specifications, but a net positive effect in only two specifications. This finding is not surprising given the high level of income inequality that is currently ravaging some of the SSA countries. Policy implications are discussed.