Regional Income Inequality Research Articles

Regional Income Inequality in Selected Large Countries

Income inequality can be measured at different levels of aggregation such as global, continental, international and national levels. Here we consider income inequality at the national level but the focus is on the within country regional inequality. Regional inequality in income distribution in a selection of large countries measured by the size of their population and land area with regional, provincial or federation division is examined. The empirical results reported are based on the second half of the 20th century. The countries considered here cover large transition, developing and industrialised countries. The review cover a whole range of measures and methods frequently employed in empirical analysis of income inequality and income distribution. Different determinant factors and their impacts from different studies are presented. Empirical results from the literature is compared with those obtained based on the WIID data covering post 1950.

Decomposition of Regional Income Inequality in Korea

This paper analyzes sources of income inequality in Korea with respect to income source and region. When the Gini index of overall income inequality was decomposed by geographical boundaries, the relative contribution of between-region inequality to the total was 67.96 percent in 1995, showing a Gini index of 0.315. Half of this income inequality (a Gini index of 0.234) was attributable to the difference in incomes between the Seoul Metropolitan Area and the rest of the nation, and two-thirds of the income inequality within regions (a Gini index of 0.101) was attributable to the level of income inequality between subregions of the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

China's Consumer Revolution: Distribution Reform, Foreign Investment and the Impact of the WTO

The Chinese leaders have stated that domestic consumption is the key to China’s further economic development. An examination of consumer trends since the initiation of China’s open-door policy in 1978 suggests market segmentation based on growing personal and regional income inequalities. There is also greater quality discernment as markets mature. Furthermore, credit provision is designed to stimulate consumption. It is argued that consumption will additionally be spurred by ongoing reform in the distribution system. Under the command economy, wholesale and retail services were a state monopoly, and this legacy has impeded the development of a nationwide market. Foreign companies have been playing a major role in the transformation of China’s distribution system. Thus, companies like Walmart and Daiei, active in supermarket chains, introduce high levels of service, the use of information technologies in selling and marketing, and scientific management. In response, Chinese domestic concerns need to institute economies of scale and greater integration between supply and retail networks. Finally, membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will force China’s leaders to open the country’s service sector to foreign investors. In conclusion, WTO membership will provide impetus towards greater competitiveness in China’s distribution system, thereby facilitating expansion of consumer markets. Asian Business & Management (2003) 2, 187–204. doi:10.1057/palgrave.abm.9200041

Estimates of Income and Income Inequality in the United States and in Each of the Fifty States: 1988–1999

Abstract Estimates of income levels and income inequality in the United States in 1988, 1995, and 1999 are presented based on a dataset created by a statistical match of Internal Revenue Service and decennial Census data. In addition, estimates are presented of income levels and income distribution in each of the fifty states of the United States during those same years. Trends in national and regional income inequality and income levels over the period are analyzed also.

Economic Integration and Regional Income Inequalities: Competing Dynamics of Regional Wages and Innovative Capabilities

AbstractA factor‐price difference scenario has recently been used by Krugman and Venables and by Puga to explain why, in the absence of labor migrations, economic integration should first produce and then dissolve regional income inequalities. The authors question this scenario in a dynamic analysis framework that extends the Baldwin, Martin, and Ottaviano ones to allow for regional wage differences. In this context, wage flexibility is no more a sufficient condition to induce long‐run convergence. Indeed, when regions are equally sized, the innovative capability advantage of the “core” outweighs the wage cost advantage of the “periphery” even for very low transport costs, and regional wage gaps are likely to persist in the long run.

Strong Swiss franc drags Sulzer Pumps’ orders down

Fifty years ago Jeffrey G. Williamson suggested that during the process of economic development regional income differences trace out an inverted U-shaped pattern. Since then several studies have tested this hypothesis. Yet, most of these only explore particular stages of development. This study, however, investigates the long-term evolution of regional income inequality. Using a novel dataset spanning 150 years, we describe per-capita GDP disparities across Spanish provinces (NUTS3) from 1860 to 2010. Moreover, to gain a deeper understanding of regional inequality, we examine other relevant dimensions: modality, mobility and spatial clustering. Overall, the findings confirm the existence of an inverted U-shaped pattern. Furthermore, there appears to be two major phases. Between 1860 and 1930 the upswing in regional inequality was accompanied by a certain mobility in income class or rank. Then, regional convergence followed until the 1980s, but mobility was rather low and spatial clustering significantly increased. Thus, a map with ‘Two Spains’ emerged, and spatial polarization has become a major concern.

Decomposing regional income inequality in China and Indonesia using two-stage nested Theil decomposition method

The objective of this paper is to present an inequality decomposition method, the two-stage nested Theil decomposition method, which is an extension of the ordinary one-stage Theil decomposition method. The method is analogous to a two-stage nested design in the analysis of variance (ANOVA). It considers the three-level hierarchical structure of a country: region-province-district, and decomposes overall regional inequality, as measured by Theil indices based on district-level mean incomes, into three components: the between-region, between-province, and within-province inequality components. The within-province component is a weighted-average of within-province income inequalities for each province, while the between-province component is a weighted-average of between-province income inequalities within each region. The method uses a district as the underlying regional unit to measure regional income inequality, rather than a province, and thus can analyze the contribution of within-province inequalities as well as between-province and between-region inequalities to the overall regional income inequality in a coherent framework. This paper applies the two-stage nested Theil decomposition method to district-level income and population data in China and Indonesia and explores factors determining regional income inequality in China and Indonesia.

Impacts of national development and decentralization policies on regional income disparity in Korea

This paper analyzed the effects of national development and decentralization policies on the regional income disparity in Korea. It also attempted to test whether there was a structural change in the causal relationship between income inequality and its determinant factors. This study found that the degree of variation in regional incomes was positively correlated with the spatial distribution of decentralization instruments such as educational services, employment, infrastructure facilities, and information network variables. The effects of some decentralization policies on regional income inequality were fully realized within a period of three years. Finally, the impacts of the spatial decentralization of public goods on regional inequality fluctuated until the early 1980s but were stabilized as industrial restructuring and spatial reorganization progressed during the 1990s.

Spatial Dynamic Variations of Regional Inequality in Korea and Japan

This study attempts to illustrate the patterns of regional inequality and their dynamic variations in Korea and Japan where economic development levels differ. In order to present a reasonable demonstration of such patterns, the study starts with and further develops Williamson's inverted-U hypothesis and Amos' augmented inverted-U hypothesis through a detailed empirical analysis of the interplay between regional dynamics and regional income inequality in the cases of both Korea and Japan. The primary conclusions of this study can be stated as: (1) Korea and Japan are moving into the spatial restructuring phase from the preceding polarization reversal phase after 1996 and 1978, respectively; (2) Regional dynamics applied to widespread regional growth and decline becomes very clear by portraying of the dynamic variation of inequality in geographical space.

REGIONAL INCOME INEQUALITY IN INDONESIA AND THE INITIAL IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

This paper estimates regional income inequality from 1993 to 1998, using a Theil index based upon district-level GDP and population data. Between 1993 and 1997, when Indonesia's annual average growth rate exceeded 7%, regional income inequality rose significantly. A two-stage nested inequality decomposition analysis indicates this was due mainly to an increase in within-province inequality, especially in Riau, Jakarta and West and East Java. In 1997, the within-province component represented about 50% of regional income inequality. The crisis caused per capita GDP growth to revert to its 1995 level, but the impact was spread unevenly across provinces and districts. In 1998 regional income inequality declined to its 1993-94 level. In contrast to 1993-97, three-quarters of the 1998 decline was due to a change in between-province inequality, with the Java-Bali region playing a prominent role. The crisis appears particularly to have afflicted urban Java and urban Sumatra.

The geography of the wages: Chinese cities 1989 and 1997

Improving national average income and reducing regional income inequality often serve as dual goals of economic development in a country. After over twenty years of economic reforms, China has been fairly successful in achieving the first goal, but failed in the second. This paper uses recent data with a sharper resolution to examine the variation of average wages across Chinese cities 1989–1997. Widening wage inequalities across cities are observed during the period. This research also seeks to explain the variation of wages between cities by factors such as agglomeration (density and city size), location advantages (distances from central cities and from the coastline), educational attainment, industrial structure and administrative hierarchy. Many of the factors are found to be important in explaining wage differences in Western countries but are yet to be tested in China. Some factors such as distance from the coast, industrial structure and administrative hierarchy are considered because of China’s unique social and economic systems.

Growth and Inequality: Evidence from Transitional Economies

The transitional economies of Eastern Europe (EE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) experienced a dramatic increase in income inequality in the 1990s. In this paper I investigate the causes of unprecedented changes in income distribution using a unique panel of inequality estimates for 24 transitional countries for the period 1989-1998. The fixed effects model is used to control for unobservable country-specific effects that result in a missing-variable bias in cross-sectional studies. The relationship between income inequality, measured by Gini coefficient, and per capita GDP is shown to be positive for EE, but negative for the FSU. Economic liberalization, privatization and deindustrialization are found to have contributed to the rise in income inequality in the transitional region. Hyperinflation also makes the distribution of income more unequal. I do not find strong support for unemployment and the size of government consumption affecting income distribution. While civil conflicts increase income inequality, the extent of political rights and civil liberties is not found to directly affect income distribution.

Changes in regional inequality in rural China: decomposing the Gini index by income sources

A new method is proposed to decompose inequality changes as measured by the Gini index into structural effects, real inequality effects and interactive effects. Application of the method to updated Chinese data reveals that structural effects represent the driving force underlying the increasing trend in regional income inequality in rural China. Policy implications are explored. In addition to these contributions, considerable efforts are made to construct the income data used in the article. Pitfalls in measuring income inequality in rural China are discussed.

Do Market Wages Influence Child Labour and Child Schooling?

This paper provides empirical evidence on the joint determinants of child labor, and child schooling, using individual level data from Egypt. The main findings are as follows: 1) A ten percent increase in the illiterate male market wage decreases the probability of child labor by 21.5 percent for boys, and 13.1 percent for girls. 2) Higher local regional income inequality increases the likelihood of child labor. 3) Parents who were child laborers themselves, are more likely to send their children out to work. 4) Local labor market conditions - the share of adults engaged in the public sector, or in non-regular jobs - play an important role in influencing child labor participation. 5) There is a trade-off between child labor, and child schooling. The results suggest that not only is poverty the main cause of child labor, but that child labor perpetuates poverty as well.

Economic growth and regional income inequality in Brazil

This paper analyses the evolution of regional inequality in Brazil in the period 1939–1995. Based on a data set organized by the author, indicators of per capita income dispersion among states and regions are presented and their evolution over time is analyzed. The correlation between the regional initial level of per capita income and its growth is considered, testing for Beta convergence. The speed of convergence is calculated in two different forms, the neoclassical model and the coefficient of variation, the later allowing for the analysis of oscillations in inequality over time and its relationship to national economic growth rates. The Kuznetz hypothesis, relating regional income inequality and level of development, is tested. The results indicate the presence of signs of regional income convergence in Brazil, but with important oscillations in the evolution of inequality over time as well as across regions within the country. The association of regional inequality with national income growth produced interesting results, indicating a promising line for future research.

Urban and Regional Planning in Brazil

Spatial planning in Brazil, be it at national, regional or urban scale, has the leadership of the federal government, although, as a federative republic, the federal government, the 27 states, and the roughly 5,400 local governments have to share responsibilities on this matter. To a large extent, this bias is due to historical and geopolitical strategies, in which the framework for urban and regional spatial planning has been based on the dominant way Brazil is inserted in the international division of labor. As such, dependent, nationalist, and global models of capitalism have successively defined the spatial planning strategies in Brazil since the early 1930s. Disconnected from development planning at all, these models have failed as strategies for fighting personal and regional income inequalities, which are a true stigma for Brazilian society. Currently, a new concept of regionalization, derived from national development planning strategies, is in train of being implemented, opening new perspectives for regional and urban planning in Brazil on a more sustainable basis.

Level of Development, Rate of Economic Growth, and Income Inequality

Previous articleNext article No AccessLevel of Development, Rate of Economic Growth, and Income InequalityJih Y. Chang and Rati RamJih Y. ChangIllinois State University Search for more articles by this author and Rati RamIllinois State University Search for more articles by this author Illinois State UniversityPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 48, Number 4July 2000 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/452477 Views: 103Total views on this site Citations: 21Citations are reported from Crossref © 2000 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Arief Anshory Yusuf, Reza Anglingkusumo, Andy Sumner A direct test of Kuznets in a developing economy: a cross-district analysis of structural transformation and inequality in Indonesia, Regional Studies, Regional Science 8, no.11 (Jun 2021): 184–206.https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2021.1924850Iacopo Odoardi, Dario D’Ingiullo, Donatella Furia Human capital and the reduction of inequalities: an intra-national analysis in Italy, Applied Economics 52, no.5757 (Jul 2020): 6215–6228.https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2020.1788708Mukunda Mishra, Soumendu Chatterjee Mapping Economic Inequality, (May 2020): 121–194.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4083-7_5Fadi Fawaz, Masha Rahnama-Moghadamm Spatial dependence of global income inequality: The role of economic complexity, The International Trade Journal 33, no.66 (Oct 2018): 542–554.https://doi.org/10.1080/08853908.2018.1535336Yasi Tian, Lei Wang Mutualism of intra- and inter-prefecture level cities and its effects on regional socio-economic development: A case study of Hubei Province, Central China, Sustainable Cities and Society 44 (Jan 2019): 16–26.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.09.033Fadi Fawaz, Eric Frey The impact of abundancy of resources and regime type on income inequality: The case of less-developed countries, Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences (Jun 2018).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2018.05.015Seung Jin Baek , ( 2018): 85.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91394-0_4Laura Stanley, Patrick A. McLaughlin Regulation and Income Inequality: The Regressive Effects of Entry Regulations, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2018).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3191390Sambuddha Ghatak, Aaron Gold Development, discrimination, and domestic terrorism: Looking beyond a linear relationship, Conflict Management and Peace Science 34, no.66 (Oct 2015): 618–639.https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894215608511Mukunda Mishra, Soumendu Chatterjee An effort of mapping the income inequality in the district of Purulia, West Bengal, India, Journal of Social and Economic Development 19, no.11 (Feb 2017): 111–142.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40847-017-0035-1Yiwen Yang, Theresa M. Greaney Economic growth and income inequality in the Asia-Pacific region: A comparative study of China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, Journal of Asian Economics 48 (Feb 2017): 6–22.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asieco.2016.10.008Patrick A. McLaughlin, Laura Stanley Regulation and Income Inequality: The Regressive Effects of Entry Regulations, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2016).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2869155ZAINAB IFTIKHAR, AMANAT ALI IMPACT OF INCOME INEQUALITY AND DEFENCE BURDEN ON ECONOMIC GROWTH, The Singapore Economic Review 57, no.0303 (Sep 2012): 1250014.https://doi.org/10.1142/S0217590812500142ANPING CHEN, NICOLAAS GROENEWOLD Regional Equality and National Development in China: Is There a Trade-Off?, Growth and Change 42, no.44 (Nov 2011): 628–669.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2257.2011.00570.xJong-eun Lee Inequality in the globalizing Asia, Applied Economics 42, no.2323 (Sep 2010): 2975–2984.https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840801964781Jong-Eun Lee Does globalization matter to income distribution in Asia?, Applied Economics Letters 13, no.1313 (Feb 2007): 851–855.https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850500425352Jong-Eun Lee Inequality and globalization in Europe, Journal of Policy Modeling 28, no.77 (Oct 2006): 791–796.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2006.04.013Anneli Kaasa Factors of Income Inequality and Their Influence Mechanisms: A Theoretical Overview, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2005).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.868491Dell P. Champlin, Janet T. Knoedler Embedded Economies, Democracy, and the Public Interest, Journal of Economic Issues 38, no.44 (Jan 2016): 893–907.https://doi.org/10.1080/00213624.2004.11506748Michael Bleaney, Akira Nishiyama Income inequality and growth—does the relationship vary with the income level?, Economics Letters 84, no.33 (Sep 2004): 349–355.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2004.03.004Rodolfo Hoffmann Distribuição de renda e crescimento econômico, Estudos Avançados 15, no.4141 (Apr 2001): 67–76.https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-40142001000100007

Forecasting regional income inequality in China

In this study, the mathematical models with Gini coefficients and variation coefficients are used to study the time-series properties of China’s regional income differences. The result shows that from 1952 to 1978 the differences increase; from 1978 to the beginning of 1990s decrease; and from the beginning of 1990s to 1995 increase a little. In addition, the multi-level autoregressive models with time-varying parameters are used to predict the differences of China’s regional per capita income from 1996 to 2000. The per capita income levels of various regions in China have also been forecasted by using adaptive control algorithms to depict an acceptable level of income inequality for policy making.

Gender Inequalities and Economic Growth: A Longitudinal Evaluation

This longitudinal evaluation of gender inequalities and economic growth addresses key questions in the evolving debate over the character of gender differentiation and the goals of womens empowerment. These questions include: 1) whether the impact of strategies of economic growth served to enhance or undermine the status of women; 2) whether changes in the status of women were accompanied by significant changes in gender inequality; and 3) the implications for existing debates. Section I reviews several sets of literature pertinent to the questions using three general approaches: modernization-neoclassical women in development and gender and development. Section II presents the data and methods used in the evaluation. The research assessed the contending interpretations reviewed in the first section by combining another set of cross-sectional and longitudinal data on womens status and inequalities between men and women with other existing indicators. Section III discusses the results in the following order: 1) cross-sectional patterns in womens status; 2) trends in womens status; 3) cross-sectional patterns in inequality between men and women; 4) trends in inequality between men and women; and 5) conclusion. Finally section IV presents an overall discussion of the findings of the whole longitudinal evaluation.

Regional Income Inequalities by Income Class in Brazil: Is Inequality Higher Among Rich or Poor People?

The paper deals with regional inequality of per capita income by income class in Brazil. The paper calculates regional income inequality measures by income class, allowing for the identification of the income classes in which inequality is the highest. The indicators are calculated for the years 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1991. For each income classes the speed of convergence is estimated, allowing for the identification of the income classes for which convergence is taking place and at what speed.