Inequality and development: Evidence from semiparametric estimation with panel data

Evidences from nonparametric and semiparametric unbalanced panel data models with fixed effects show that Kuznet’s inverted-U relationship is confirmed when economic development reaches a threshold. The model tests justify semiparametric specification. The integrated net contribution of control variables to inequality reduction is significant.     

Health care expenditure and income in the OECD reconsidered: Evidence from panel data

This paper reconsiders the long-run economic relationship between health care expenditure and income using a panel of 20 OECD countries observed over the period 1971–2004. In particular, the paper studies the non-stationarity and cointegration properties between health care spending and income. This is done in a panel data context controlling for both cross-section dependence and unobserved heterogeneity. Cross-section dependence is modelled through a common factor model and through spatial dependence. Heterogeneity is handled through fixed effects in a panel homogeneous model and through a panel heterogeneous model. Our findings suggest that health care is a necessity rather than a luxury, with an elasticity much smaller than that estimated in previous studies.     

The link between output growth and volatility: Evidence from a GARCH model with panel data

Estimation results from a dynamic panel GARCH model for G7 countries over the 1965–2007 period support that higher output growth is associated with higher volatility of the innovations to growth, but higher growth does not lead to more economic uncertainty.     

Personal income tax progressivity and output volatility: Evidence from OECD countries

This paper investigates empirically the effect of personal income tax progressivity on output volatility using macro data from a sample of OECD countries over the period 1982–2009. Our measure of progressivity is based on the difference between the marginal and the average personal income tax rate for the average production worker. We find supportive empirical evidence for the hypothesis that higher personal income tax progressivity leads to lower output volatility. This effect comes in addition to the stabilizing impact of government size and it is equally important in economic terms. All other factors constant, countries with more progressive personal income tax systems seem to benefit from stronger automatic stabilizers.     

Financial development and openness: Evidence from panel data

This paper addresses the empirical question of whether trade and financial openness can help explain the recent pace in financial development, as well as its variation across countries in recent years. Utilising annual data from developing and industrialised countries and dynamic panel estimation techniques, we provide evidence which suggests that both types of openness are statistically significant determinants of banking sector development. Our findings reveal that the marginal effects of trade (financial) openness are negatively related to the degree of financial (trade) openness, indicating that relatively closed economies stand to benefit most from opening up their trade and/or capital accounts. Although these economies may be able to accomplish more by taking steps to open both their trade and capital accounts, opening up one without the other could still generate gains in terms of banking sector development. Thus, our findings provide only partial support to the well known Rajan and Zingales hypothesis, which stipulates that both types of openness are necessary for financial development to take place.     

The effect of foreign aid on income inequality: Evidence from panel cointegration

This paper examines the long-run effect of foreign aid on income inequality for 21 recipient countries using panel cointegration techniques to control for omitted variable and endogeneity bias. We find that aid exerts an inequality increasing effect on income distribution.     

Reexamining the income inequality in China: Evidence from sequential panel selection method

This study aims to understand whether incomes across different regions in China are converging or diverging. We propose a novel approach to panel unit root testing–sequential panel selection method (SPSM) by using panel Kapetanios et al. (KSS) test with a Fourier function, which is sufficiently efficient to control for structural breaks and nonlinearity as well as cross-sectional dependency. SPSM classifies the whole panel into a group of stationary and nonstationary series. The method also clearly determines how many and which series in the panel are stationary processes. Using the panel data obtained from 31 regions in China, we find out that the real gross domestic product per capita from 1979 to 2010 does not converge in 20 of the 31 regions in China. The evidence of income divergence has important policy implications for China.     

Inequality convergence revisited: Evidence from stationarity panel tests with breaks and cross correlation

This paper empirically examines whether there exists stochastic convergence of income inequality among 48 contiguous states within the US over the 1916–2005 period. For that purpose, we employ the recently developed panel stationarity test of Carrion-i-Silvestre, Del Barrio-Castro and López-Bazo (2005), which assumes a highly flexible trend function by incorporating an unknown number of structural breaks. In addition, the issues of cross-sectional dependence as well as control for finite-sample bias are accommodated through bootstrap methods. Overall, for the US case, our analysis provides strong evidence in support of the hypothesis of inter-state inequality convergence. Moreover, the results are robust to alternative inequality measures applied, different notions of stochastic convergence defined, and alternative panel stationary test employed.     

Rising top-income persistence in Australia: Evidence from income tax data

Using income tax administrative data for Australia, we examine levels and trends in the persistence in top-income group membership, focusing on the top 1 percent. Top-income persistence increased markedly between 1991 and 2018, with most of the increase occurring in the mid-2000s and early 2010s. In the mid- to late-2010s, Australian top-income persistence rates were near the top of the range of tax-data estimates for other countries. We decompose the increase into factors associated with (i) changes in the composition of the top-income group and (ii) increases in persistence rates for specific population subgroups. We find that the rise in top-income persistence is accounted for by changes in subgroup persistence rates, notably for individuals aged 35–64, and especially those aged 55–64. We suggest that these effects are partially related to increases in the effective retirement age over the relevant period.     

Priorities and sequencing in privatization: Evidence from Czech firm panel data

While privatization of state-owned enterprises has been one of the most important aspects of the economic transition from a centrally planned to a market system, no transition economy has privatized all its firms simultaneously. This raises the question of whether governments privatize firms strategically. In this paper we examine the determinants of the sequencing of privatization. To obtain testable predictions about the factors that may affect sequencing, we investigate the following competing government objectives: (i) Maximizing efficiency through resource allocation; (ii) maximizing public goodwill from the free transfers of shares to the public; (iii) minimizing political costs; (iv) maximizing efficiency through information gains; and (v) maximizing privatization revenues. Next, we use firm-level data from the Czech Republic to test the competing predictions about the sequencing of privatization. Consistent with the hypotheses of a government priority on revenues and public goodwill, we find strong evidence that more profitable firms were privatized first. The sequencing of privatization is also consistent with maximizing efficiency through information gains. Our results indicate that many empirical studies of the effects of privatization on firm performance suffer from a selection bias.     

Entrepreneurship and income inequality: a spatial panel data analysis

The main objective of this paper is to empirically analyze the relationship between entrepreneurship and income inequality. We use a spatial panel data analysis for both 33 high-income countries and 39 middle- and low-income countries over a period of 11 years. Estimation results and rigorous diagnostic analysis suggest that: (i) there is a strong support for the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurship and income inequality espoused by the Kuznets Curve hypothesis; (ii) the relationship between entrepreneurship and income inequality is negatively moderated by country’s level of economic development; (iii) regardless of income inequality levels, entrepreneurship has a non-linear relationship with income per capita; (iv) gross domestic expenditure on research and development exhibits significant negative impacts on entrepreneurship; (v) significant mixed effects on the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity are observed with governance, globalization, population growth rate, and competitiveness variables; (vi) there are significant mixed feedback effects on entrepreneurship; and (vii) there are statistically significant, positive as well as negative spatial spillovers to country-level entrepreneurial activity.     

Inequality of income derived from survey data during the inflationary period

By using the Lorenz curve technique this note demonstrates that the inequality of income derived from survey data during the inflationary period is overestimated.     

On the effects of income volatility on income distribution: Asymmetric evidence from state level data in the U.S.

A previous study that tried to assess the impact of income volatility on income inequality in the U.S. used state level data and a balanced panel model to conclude that increased volatility worsens income distribution in the U.S., which implies that decreased volatility should reduce inequality. We use the same data set that is extended by nine years and revisit the issue using linear and nonlinear ARDL time-series models to show that the above conclusion does not hold in every state. While we discover short-run asymmetric effects of income volatility on a measure of inequality in most states, they translate to long-run asymmetric effects only in 16 states. Both increased volatility and decreased volatility are found to have unequalizing effects on income distribution in these states.     

Purchasing power parity and country characteristics: Evidence from panel data tests

We examine long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) using panel data methods to test for unit roots in US dollar real exchange rates of 84 countries. We find stronger evidence of PPP in countries more open to trade, closer to the United States, with lower inflation and moderate nominal exchange rate volatility, and with similar economic growth rates as the United States. We also show that PPP holds for panels of European and Latin American countries, but not for African and Asian countries. Our findings demonstrate that country characteristics can help explain both adherence to and deviations from long-run PPP.     

The permanent income hypothesis and the real interest rate: Some evidence from panel data

A test of the permanent income hypothesis in panel data is formulated taking into account both the time-series and cross-section variation in the rate of return. The over-identifying restrictions of the theory rejected.     

The patterns and determinants of longevity in Russia's regions: Evidence from panel data

In this paper we examine whether regions of Russia have been converging or diverging in their longevity levels during the 1990s and evaluate the divergence effect of the 1998 financial crisis. We also estimate the impact of changes in poverty and public health spending on inter-temporal variations in longevity using regional-level panel data for 77 Russian regions from 1994 to 2000. Finally, we investigate the extent to which the gradual recovery in longevity observed after 1994 was derailed by the 1998 financial crisis and the public policy shifts required for regions to regain their Soviet-era levels of longevity. We find a significant negative effect of the 1998 crisis on longevity independently of the factors related directly to poverty and public health spending. In addition, a permanent negative shock to the incidence of poverty and the amount of publicly-provided health care in a region has enduring consequences on the population's health. Finally, the effect of increases in public health spending on longevity is related positively to the incidence of poverty. Journal of Comparative Economics 33 (4) (2005) 788–813.     

Adoption and disadoption of electric cookstoves in urban Ethiopia: Evidence from panel data

Previous studies on improved cookstove adoption in developing countries use cross-sectional data, which make it difficult to control for unobserved heterogeneity and investigate what happens to adoption over time. We use robust non-linear panel data and hazard models on three rounds of panel data from urban Ethiopia to investigate the determinants of adoption and disadoption of electric cookstoves over time. We find that the prices of electricity and firewood and access to credit are major determinants of adoption and transition. Our findings have important implications for policies aiming at promotion of energy transition and reduction of the pressure on forest resources in developing countries.     

Risk attitudes and reservation wages of unemployed workers: Evidence from panel data

This paper studies risk attitudes of unemployed job seekers and their relationship to self-reported reservation wages. We find that risk aversion is prevalent, and that reservation wages decrease slightly over time. Furthermore, risk aversion and reservation wages are negatively correlated.     

Monetary shocks,equity returns and volatility: a firm-level panel data analysis

This article studies the impact of monetary policy shocks on equity returns and their volatility among nine industries and their affiliated firms in the United States. We use an extension of the traditional CAPM as the analytical framework and approximate policy shocks with the unexpected component of the federal funds rate. Data on the characteristics of firms and industries are obtained from Compustat and the Center for Research in Security Prices, covering a sample period from 1987 to 2009. Our results clearly show that responses to policy shocks vary by industry and across firms. Furthermore, credit availability matters in certain industries, and small, financially constrained, and bank-dependent firms are found to be more vulnerable to unexpected federal funds rate shocks.