THE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

This paper collects and extends the available data on size distribution of income by country, and then uses these data to develop an hypothesis about the relation of stage and mode of development to the distribution of income. In particular, the author attributes the increase in income inequality which often occurs in the early stages of economic development to the uneven spread of capitalist modes of production, which leads to a dualism which separates the capitalist sector from the rest of the economy. The author goes on to discuss the role of this dualism in increasing the inequalities existing in the society. Finally, the author contrasts the income distributions found in socialist countries with those of capitalist ones, and concludes that it is not economic growth per se , but rather the capitalist mode of production, which creates income inequalities in developing countries.