Global estimates of growth–inequality–poverty (GIP) triangle: evidence from World Bank’s classification countries

This study extended the concept of ‘growth–inequality–poverty (GIP) triangle’ by using the principle component approach which allows us to composite different poverty and inequality indicators into one single index that contains most of the useful information from the original dataset. Using the idea of GIP triangle, this study examines the long-run relationship among weighted poverty index (which comprises headcount ratio, poverty gap and squared poverty gap); weighted inequality index (i.e., Watts Index, Gini Index and MLD Index) and average monthly per capita income in the designated 138 countries according to World Bank’s classification over a period of 2005–2010. The data set mainly contain countries’ unit record household survey at least one which is conducted between the countries during the sample period. The regression model encompassing the impact of economic growth and income inequality on poverty reflects that income inequality increases poverty while economic growth decreases poverty. It indicates that the impact of inequality in increasing poverty is a somewhat greater than that of growth in average income in reducing overall poverty in a sample countries. The other regression model encompassing the impact of economic growth and poverty on income inequality showed that the poverty itself is also likely to be a barrier for poverty reduction; and inequality seems to predict lower future growth rates. The final regression model depicting the impact of poverty and income inequality on mean income of the household suggests that poverty itself reduces mean income of the household while income inequality increases economic growth. The results are interesting and simply suggest that whenever social institutions malfunction, the incidence of damage would usually be distributed unevenly over the society’s members.     

Mobility and the dynamics of poverty in Iran: Evidence from the 1992–1995 panel survey

In the last three decades, revolutionary Iran has experienced large shocks to its political and economic system with likely effects on poverty, inequality, and economic mobility. While poverty has declined, inequality has remained relatively high and stable over nearly four decades. In this paper, for the first time, we examine poverty and inequality in a dynamic context using a 4-year panel data, collected during 1992–1995. We show that short-term income mobility is relatively high, which helps mitigate persistent high inequality. We offer a range of estimates of transition probabilities, indicating that, for example, someone in the lowest (highest) quintile has between 25% and 50% chance of moving up (down) the income ladder. Focusing on the dynamics of poverty, we distinguish between short- and long-term poor and between chronic and transient poverty. Surprisingly, we find that chronic poverty is a more serious problem in urban than rural areas, while transient poverty is geographically more uniformly distributed. Finally, using Tobit and quantile regression, we examine the correlates of these two types of poverty. Both chronic and transient poverty are higher for households headed by women and by younger and less educated men. While minorities suffer more from transient poverty, they are less likely to be chronically poor. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy to alleviate chronic and transient poverty.     

Understanding Income Inequality in China: A Multi-Angle Perspective

Economic reforms have brought about spectacular growth and vast improvements of people’s living standards in China since 1978. In the meantime, unbalanced regional growth and income inequality have become two important concerns of future development. Most available studies on income distribution have either focused on the rural population or on the urban citizens. This paper stresses the importance of adopting a multi-angle approach to fully understand income inequality in China. We first use some top-down information to form a general picture of inequality for the whole country, and then use some bottom-up household survey data to explain in detail the development of inequality over time regarding rural/urban inequality, rural inequality, urban inequality and inter-regional inequality, the relative importance of different income sources to overall inequality. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

缩小陕西城乡居民收入差距过大的有效途径研究

城乡收入比是衡量城乡收入差距的一个重要指标,陕西城乡居民收入比2002年—2010年一直远高于全国水平,城乡居民收入差距过大。农村人口占陕西人口总数的多数,与城镇居民主要依靠政策性收入来源的相对固定性和单一性相比,农村居民收入来源更灵活多样,增收潜力可挖。农民人均纯收入增长速度近来超过城镇的事实,更进一步证实了农民增收在有效缩小城乡居民收入差距中的作用。必须通过发展特色农业,加快农业产业化,实现农村工业化;提高工业反哺农业的能力;实现农村劳动力有效转移等途径增加农民收入以缩小陕西城乡居民收入差距。     

Macroeconomic Adjustment and the Poor: Analytical Issues and Cross‐Country Evidence

Abstract.  This paper studies the links between macroeconomic adjustment and poverty. The first part summarizes some of the recent evidence on poverty in the developing world. The second reviews the various channels through which macroeconomic policies affect the poor, whereas the third is devoted to the specific role of the labor market. It presents an analytical framework that captures some of the main features of the urban labor market in developing countries and studies the effects of fiscal adjustment on wages, employment, and poverty. The fourth part presents cross‐country regressions linking various macroeconomic and structural variables to poverty. Higher levels and growth rates of per capita income, higher rates of real exchange rate depreciation, better health conditions, and a greater degree of commercial openness lower poverty, whereas inflation, greater income inequality, and macroeconomic volatility tend to increase it. Moreover, the impact of growth on poverty appears to be asymmetric; it seems to result from a significant relationship between episodes of increasing poverty and negative growth rates.     

A spatial analysis of inward FDI and urban–rural wage inequality in China

This article investigates the spatial effect of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on urban–rural wage inequality, both in the short and long run, by employing the Spatial Durbin Model. In particular, we carefully consider the heterogeneity of inward FDI with respect to its entry mode (ownership type) and sectoral distribution. Based on a panel dataset covering 30 provinces and cities in China from 2000 to 2016, our results show that inward FDI does not increase urban–rural wage inequality. In particular, we do not find a significant relationship between inward FDI in the secondary and tertiary sectors, while inward FDI in the primary sector has a slightly negative effect on inequality. When we consider inward FDI by entry mode, we find that wholly foreign-owned enterprises (WFE) have a negative spatial effect on urban–rural wage inequality in the short and long run, while equity joint ventures (EJV) reduce urban–rural inequality in the long run only.     

FACTORS OF INTERREGIONAL INCOME INEQUALITY IN POSTWAR JAPAN: THEIL DECOMPOSITION AND GAP ACCOUNTING ANALYSES

This study empirically identifies some factors of interregional income inequality in postwar Japan during the period 1955–2005 using a decomposition analysis with a Theil L index and a gap accounting analysis. One major empirical finding was that interregional inequality in per capita GDP during the period 1955–2005 showed a double peaked M‐shaped curve, which was predominantly attributed to interregional inequality in labor productivity. The sectoral decomposition analysis revealed that the factors that caused fluctuations in interregional inequality in labor productivity differed from year to year. The fluctuations during the period 1960–1980 were caused by an intersectoral equilibrating process between the tertiary sector and other sectors, whereas that the fluctuations that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted from interregional disequilibrating and equilibrating processes within the tertiary sector.     

农民增收以缩小西安城乡居民收入差距的潜力

西安是陕西城乡收入比最小的城市,但与发达城市相比,城乡收入差距还是比较大的。缩小城乡居民收入差距除了农民具有增收的主观意愿外,西安得天独厚的区位优势和社会经济环境也为农民增收提供了可挖掘的潜力。发挥旅游业的辐射带动作用,加快农村劳动力转移;发展都市特色农业、加快农业产业化;合理规划财产性收入,确保财产增值;落实支农惠农政策,确保转移性收入增长以充分挖掘农民增收潜力,进而缩小西安城乡居民收入差距。     

以提高农民收入水平为抓手建设和谐美丽新云南

农民收入问题事关国民经济协调发展和社会和谐稳定。本文在分析云南农民收入水平低、城乡收入差距大、地区不平衡突出、贫困人口多,从而制约着云南科学发展、和谐发展与跨越发展基础上,提出建设和谐美丽新云南应以提高农民收入水平为抓手,发挥云南比较优势、统筹城乡协调发展、依靠科技进步和增强农民增收本领等举措促进农民增收和保持农民收入持续较快增长。     

区域金融发展与城乡收入差距的实证分析——以温州为例

贫富差距已经成为困扰社会和谐发展的重要乃至首要因素,城乡收入差距是其中的一个方面。从金融的角度研究城乡收入差距具有重要的政策含义。目前国内这方面的研究文献相对较少,而且大多基于整体研究,缺乏以区域为单位的研究,更没有将温州作为研究对象。然而,金融发展与城乡收入差距之间的关系在地区层面上必然会表现出并不完全一致的关系。文章对温州相关数据利用协整分析方法,考察金融发展与城乡收入差距间是否存在一种长期均衡关系,并且在协整分析基础上,对金融发展与城乡收入差距的因果关系做出具体判断。实证结果显示:金融发展规模的扩张会扩大城乡收入差距,金融发展效率的提高会缩小城乡收入差距。笔者认为,金融发展之所以扩大城乡收入差距,是金融抑制带来的城市化倾向所导致的。因此,金融发展总体上可以缩小城乡收入差距,但前提是对现有金融抑制的不断深化,均衡的金融发展才可以使得农村地区获取足够的资本来发展经济,从而较大地提高农民收入水平。     

Competitive Pressure on the Indian Households: A General Equilibrium Approach

How would competitive pressure impact upon the income distribution and the poverty of household groups? We analyse the gains in efficiency and productivity due to competitive pressure, and its distributional effects using a general equilibrium input–output framework. Efficient utilization of the available resources, technical progress and free trade constitute our sources of growth. Welfare would increase under competition, but the income distribution would become more skewed. Rural household groups would stand to lose relative to the urban ones. Urban poverty would be reduced significantly more than rural. In fact, the agricultural worker would even suffer from an increase in poverty. The study shows that competitive pressure has a positive effect on efficiency, productivity and poverty, but an adverse effect on the income distribution in the Indian economy.     

北京市居民收入差距发展规律与结构特征的实证研究

本文选取1985—2007年的时间序列数据,对23年间北京市居民的收入差距演变规律进行分析,侧重于城镇居民收入差距、农村居民收入差距、以及城乡居民收入差距三个层次,并在对时间序列数据分析基础上,对收入差距的发展趋势进行判断。研究认为,北京市居民收入差距变化大致经历了三个阶段,即差距较小—差距扩大—差距稳中有降;居民收入差距一直存在,但以1993年为节点,之后出现大幅度上升态势;2003—2007年,居民收入差距整体呈现稳中有降的趋势,但降幅不大。对收入差距内部结构的分析显示,23年间,城镇居民收入差距水平小于农村居民收入差距。     

基于PVAR模型的流通业对城乡收入差距影响研究——以江苏为例

文章选取江苏13市2005~2017年的统计数据,建立PVAR模型,重点分析了流通业发展、城镇化及其控制变量对城乡收入差距的影响程度。研究结果表明江苏城镇化与流通业总值和结构之间存在持续显著的正向促进作用;城镇化、流通业发展有助于缩小城乡收入差距;控制变量中,外商直接投资、产业结构的影响显著。因此,在提高城镇化水平、促进流通业协调发展、缩小城乡收入差距的同时,也需要加强外资引进力度、优化产业结构。     

The Kuznets curve of the rich

A long-standing interest in the relationship between inequality and sustainable growth continues to fascinate economists among other social scientists. It must be noted, however, that most empirical efforts have focussed on the income inequality–growth nexus, while studies on wealth inequality are much scarcer. This study attempts to fill such a gap in the literature by assessing the correspondence between the top 1 percent's wealth share and economic growth. Employing time series cointegration techniques, we study the experience of France and the United States from 1950 to 2014. Our estimates suggest that the output growth rate is an inverted-U-shaped function of the wealth share of the top 1 percent. The estimated relationship is robust to variations in control variables and estimation methods. We compute the local optimal wealth share, understood as the share of wealth compatible with the maximum growth rate, and show that France is growing close to its long-run potential, while the United States is significantly below its.     

Can educational expansion improve income inequality? Evidences from the CHNS 1997 and 2006 data

Rapid education expansion and rising income inequality are two striking phenomena occurring in China during the transitional period. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data collected in 1997 and 2006, this paper studies how education affects individual earnings during the transitional process. We find that education accounts for only a small fraction of the personal earnings and income gap between different groups. We analyze the underlying mechanism of the impact of education on earning. More educated people tend to enter state-owned sectors, have a low probability of changing jobs in the labor market and work less time; all of these will have a pronounced impact on earning and income inequality. Quantile regression analysis shows that the low-income group's education return rate is lower, which helps little in narrowing the income gap. We decompose the earning gap into four factors: population effect, price effect, labor choice effect and unobservable effect. In explaining the earning gap in China, the price effect is more important than the population effect. The labor choice effect is also significant. We conclude that increasing educational expenditure with no complementary measures such as reforming the education system and establishing a competitive labor market helps less in reducing income inequality.     

新型农村合作医疗的减贫、增收和再分配效果研究

本文使用2003~2006年覆盖全国30个省区的微观面板数据,对新型农村合作医疗的减贫、增收和再分配效果进行了评估。结果表明:新农合的减贫效果明显,不仅能在农户层面上显著降低贫困发生概率,而且能在省区层面上显著降低贫困率;新农合能显著促进低收入和中等收入农民增收,但需要有利的外部经济环境作为支持条件;新农合能显著降低村庄内部的收入分配不均等程度,但对省区范围内的农民收入分配状况没有产生显著影响。     

Linkages between income inequality,international remittances and economic growth in Pakistan

This paper explores the dynamic linkages between income inequality, international remittances and economic growth using time series data over the period of 1976–2006 in case of Pakistan. The cointegration analysis based on the bounds test confirms the existence of a long-run relationship between income inequality, international remittances and economic growth. Our results reveal that income inequality and international remittances enhance economic growth. The causality analysis based on innovative accounting approach shows bidirectional causal relationship between income inequality and economic growth and same is true for international remittances and income inequality. International remittances are cause of economic growth but not vice versa. Although we find support for Kuznets hypothesis but Pakistan is yet to benefit, in terms of reducing the gaps of income inequality, from the international flow of remittances and economic growth. The paper argues that, from a policy perspective, there is an urgent need for policy makers in Pakistan to reduce the widening gap of income inequality by focusing on income redistribution policies and to go beyond the traditional factors in balancing income inequality.     

重庆农村人力资本外溢对城乡差距的影响研究

重庆市农村人力资本外溢对城乡收入差距的影响巨大,外溢价值主要是由歧视性等因素造成的,当前超过三成的城乡收入差距是农村人力资本外溢效应带来的。在统筹城乡经济社会发展的背景下,政府应采取有效措施,加大对农村人力资本投入力度,建立统一的劳动力市场,积极引导劳动力向小城镇转移,大力发展农村经济,统筹城乡发展。     

Does corruption affect income inequality and poverty?

This paper provides evidence that high and rising corruption increases income inequality and poverty. An increase of one standard deviation in corruption increases the Gini coefficient of income inequality by about 11 points and income growth of the poor by about 5 percentage points per year. These findings are robust to use of different instruments for corruption and other sensitivity analyses. The paper discusses several channels through which corruption may affect income inequality and poverty. An important implication of these findings is that policies that reduce corruption will most likely reduce income inequality and poverty as well. Received: March 2, 2000 / Accepted: September 20, 2001     

IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC REFORM ON RURAL-URBAN WELFARE: A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM FRAMEWORK

This paper demonstrates how economic reform undertaken in a developing country will impact not only macroeconomic variables but also income distribution between different household groups, particularly between rural and urban households. Unlike the well-known link to macroeconomic variables, the path connecting economic reform with income of rural-urban households is more equivocal and thus demands an inquisition. The CGE model constructed in this study is designed to serve such a purpose. When applied to the Indonesian case, both the static and dynamic simulations indicate that the post-reform progress in the country's macroeconomic condition is likely accompanied by worsening—albeit slightly—household income distribution between income groups. The non agricultural sector appears to be the major beneficiary of the reform. From the dynamic simulation, a worsening distribution is also found between rural and urban areas. However, results of both simulations also show that improved poverty conditions are likely achieved following the reform.