Household appliance ownership and income inequality: Evidence from micro data in China

As the residential sector is becoming increasingly important in the total energy consumption and appliance ownership is a significant but under-examined driver, this study investigates the relationship between income inequality and appliance ownership using panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). We find that income inequality has negative impacts on appliance penetration rate across specifications, except for the initial development stage. On average, households start adopting air conditioners at a threshold of over 60,000 (2011 RMB) based on annual income, much higher than TV, fridge and washer (8500–9000 RMB). The empirical results validate the S-shape curve of appliance established in the literature. To understand the magnitude of the impact and policy implications, we further simulate the impact of poverty alleviation and the penetration paths under inclusive versus exclusive income growth. Our results demonstrate that current poverty line is too low to achieve appliance adoption – a signal for modern life-styles. In addition, a more inclusive growth path could lead to much higher penetration for regions that have relatively low growth rate.     

Asia's quest for inclusive growth revisited

Despite the rapid economic growth and poverty reduction, inequality in Asia worsened during the last two decades. We focus on the determinants of growth inclusiveness and suggest options for reform. A cross-country empirical analysis suggests that fiscal redistribution, monetary policy aimed at macro stability, and structural reforms to stimulate trade, reduce unemployment and increase productivity are important determinants of inclusive growth. The main policy implication of our analysis is that there is still room to strengthen such policies in Asia to better achieve growth with shared prosperity. In particular, scenario simulations based on our results suggests that the effect of expanding fiscal redistribution on inclusive growth could be sizeable in emerging Asia, since the estimated improvement in our proxy of inclusive growth—a measure of growth in average income “corrected” for the equity impact—ranges from about 1% to about 8% points.     

The challenge of growth,employment and poverty in the South African economy since democracy: an exploratory review of selected issues

The welfare challenges in post‐apartheid South Africa are best represented by the triumvirate of poverty, income inequality and unemployment. In turn, the one generally accepted mechanism for overcoming these challenges is for an economy to realise sustained levels of high economic growth. Herein lie the essential coordinates of this article. We attempt first to describe the post‐apartheid experience with economic growth and its determinants. Secondly, we describe the nature of the welfare challenges that the society faces in terms of poverty, income inequality and unemployment. Finally, and perhaps most critically, we explore the various constraints on economic growth that may be hindering the realisation of higher standards of living amongst the population.     

The assessment: economic policy and social democracy

The economic objectives of recent governments of the Left werefull employment, reducing inequality, and enhancing economicperformance and democratic control by measures of planning andsocialization. The economic inheritance was difficult - stagnantinvestment, high unemployment in a number of cases, and inflationhigher than that of competitors. The generalized productivityslow-down, slow growth, and the drive to reduce inflation representedan unfavourable context. The supply-side interventions atrophied,were abandoned or reversed. Employment performance was pooroverall and sometime s disastrous. Some extensions of the welfarestate were achieved and major increases in inequality were avoided,but this record was hardly exceptional. Globalization is oftenblamed for such disappointments. Here, the emphasis is on theinherent difficulties of the social democratic project - containingdistributional conflict other than by unemployment, sustainingsupport for redistribution when living standards are stagnating,and constraining business while relying on it to maintain highinvestment.     

Warfare and Economic Inequality: Evidence from Preindustrial Germany (c. 1400-1800)

What was the impact of military conflict on economic inequality? I argue that ordinary military conflicts increased local economic inequality. Warfare raised the financial needs of communities in preindustrial times, leading to more resource extraction from the population. This resource extraction happened via inequality-promoting channels, such as regressive taxation. Only in truly major wars might inequality-reducing destruction outweigh inequality-promoting extraction and reduce inequality. To test this argument I construct a novel panel dataset combining information about economic inequality in 75 localities, and more than 700 conflicts over four centuries. I find that the many ordinary conflicts — paradigmatic of life in the preindustrial world — were continuous reinforcers of economic inequality. I confirm that the Thirty Years’ War was indeed a great equaliser, but this was an exception and not the rule. Rising inequality is an underappreciated negative externality in times of conflict.     

Roles of Income Polarization,Income Inequality and Ethnic Fractionalization in Social Conflicts: An Empirical Study of Indonesian Provinces, 2002–2012

Previous studies have cited inequality as a major factor relating to conflicts in Indonesia, while consideration of polarization and fractionalization as drivers of conflict is limited. The current paper examined the roles of three indices (polarization, inequality and fractionalization) in explaining the incidence of conflicts in Indonesian provinces over 2002–2012. This study used income (proxied by expenditure) differences to measure polarization and inequality, with subnational data as the unit of analysis. In addition, to complete the analysis, the present study used a variety of socioeconomic indicators as additional control variables. This paper verified that the high degrees of income polarization, ethnic fractionalization and income inequality are associated with the high probability of conflicts in Indonesian provinces. It also found that socioeconomic factors such as poverty, unemployment, population and natural resources, as well as some types of local government spending are significantly associated with conflicts.     

Pollution mitigation,unemployment rate and wage inequality in the presence of agricultural pollution

This paper established a small open general equilibrium model to investigate the effects of the changes of consumers' unit private mitigation expenditure on the unemployment rate and the urban-rural wage inequality etc.. We found that (1) in the capital specific case, the increase of unit private mitigation expenditure will not only increase the urban unemployment rate but also expend the urban-rural wage inequality; (2) in the capital movable case, the conclusions are exactly opposite to that of the capital specific case. And under certain conditions, the increase of unit private mitigation expenditure may improve national income. According to the parameter calibration and numerical simulation results of the relevant macroeconomic data of China in 2017, we also found that (3) the effects of the changes of unit private mitigation expenditure on the urban unemployment rate is greater than that of the urban-rural wage inequality; (4) the influence degree of the changes of unit private mitigation expenditure on the unemployment rate in the capital movable case is greater than that of the capital specific case, but the influence degree of the change of unit private mitigation expenditure on the urban-rural wage inequality in the capital movable case is smaller than that of the capital specific case.     

The effects of unemployment and inflation on the income distribution: A regional view

VI. Summary and Conclusions The behavior of the U.S. income distribution over the business cycle has been the subject of several previous studies. However, a facet of these inquiries which has not been viewed is the geographical effects within the U.S. The diverse economic characteristics of the country have contributed to uneven inflationary and unemployment experiences among the respective regions during the national business cycles. The purpose of this study has been to model the regional income inequality responses to the distinct macroeconomic records for the years 1968–1976. One general consequence of this study is the conformation of earlier work suggesting that in some settings increases in the unemployment rate tend to increase the extent of income inequality and that inflation tends to reduce the extent of such inequality. Another result, however, has not been anticipated: namely, that regional inflation and unemployment had a waker impact on the income distribution the more unequal the distribution. For example, the weakest effects of the business cycle were observed for the South, and it was the Southern region which had the greatest income inequality. The North Central region, on the other hand, showed the greatest sensitivity to the business cycle, and it has the most equal income distribution.¹² Such geographical disaggregation seems important in understanding the varied implicit distributional effects within the U.S. when macroeconomic policy is aimed at reducing unemployment and inflation.     

Access to paved roads,gender, and youth unemployment in rural areas: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

The poor development of road infrastructure is one of the main obstacles to economic activity and therefore to employment in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using cross-sectional data from 31 SSA countries, this study examines, from a gender perspective, the effect of access to paved roads on youth unemployment in rural areas in the region. The seemingly unrelated bivariate probit framework has been adopted in analysing the data. This approach is used for addressing the possible endogeneity bias that occurs when the dependent variable and regressor are both endogenous and binary. The major finding of this study reveals that access to paved roads in rural areas reduces the probability that young people will face unemployment. The aforementioned is more pronounced for young women than for young men. Moreover, the greater the proximity to the road increases, the greater its reducing effect on the probability of young people being unemployed. It is therefore important that the development of road infrastructure in rural areas be at the centre of public policies to address youth unemployment in SSA countries. This will significantly increase women's empowerment, through their participation in the labour market, and the full economic participation of young people.     

IMPACT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH OF DIFFERENTIAL POPULATION GROWTH IN AN ECONOMY WITH HIGH INEQUALITY

The economic growth of South Africa has been disappointing over the last quarter century. This note addresses a conceptual problem that arises because of composition effects. Two important features of the South African economy are, first, its extreme inequality (primarily between the white population and the African population). Additionally, the African population has been growing rapidly, while the white population has experienced a declining share. This note derives an explicit equation for the impact of inequality and population-growth differences on the growth of per capita GDP. It shows that the combination of divergent population growth and high inequality can lead to an apparent drag on measured economic growth even though the components, and a more adequate measure of economic welfare, are growing at a healthy rate.     

Tax policy implications for a two‐engine growing economy

In an endogenous growth model with two engines of R&D and capital, we investigate the environment of “inclusive growth” for tax reallocations (tax increases or tax credits) to gain broader benefits in terms of promoting the overall GDP growth without an increase in income inequality. Our results show that a tax increase in the capital‐good sector can result in inclusive growth, boosting overall growth and reducing income inequality, provided that the status quo tax rate is not too high. Surprisingly, tax credits are not able to achieve such inclusive growth. While the GDP growth rises, a tax credit in the R&D sector not only increases income inequality but also decreases the aggregate employment, if the labor mobility cost between the final‐good and R&D/capital‐good sectors is relatively low. This provides a caution to policymakers given the fact that research tax credits have served as a common incentive to strengthen the R&D environment.     

Gender inequality in asset ownership and women's food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Unequal asset rights remain an important driver of gender inequality and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using cross-sectional data from 31 SSA countries, this study examines the effect of gender inequality in asset ownership on women's food security in the region. The seemingly unrelated (SUR) bivariate probit framework has been adopted in analysing the data. This approach is used for addressing the possible endogeneity bias that occurs when the dependent variable and regressor are both endogenous and binary. The major finding of this study reveals that gender inequality in asset ownership increases women's risk of facing food insecurity. The aforementioned is more pronounced for women who are undereducated, live in rural areas, and suffer various forms of discrimination. It is therefore important that more egalitarian laws on asset ownership and inheritance be adopted in all SSA countries. This will significantly increase women's specific food security and thus contribute to improving inclusiveness in these countries.     

浅析中国城镇失业认识的三大误区

我国经过20多年的经济体制改革,计划经济正迅速地向市场经济转变,由于中国特有的人口包袱、改革前国企所沉淀的大量隐性失业人员、大批农村剩余劳动力,再加上产业结构调整所带来的结构性失业等,使失业问题变得十分严峻。当失业率超过了一定的限度时,其结果必将影响社会的稳定     

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.     

Branch expansion and banking efficiency in Sri Lanka’s post‐conflict era

This study assesses changes in the technical efficiency of commercial banks in Sri Lanka following the end of armed conflict in 2009. The weighted aggregate-efficiency technique, based on a group-wise heterogeneous subsampling bootstrap approach, is employed to compare efficiency levels during the periods 2007–2009 and 2010–2013. This technique allows for heterogeneity in environmental and regulatory conditions between the two periods while assuming homogeneity within each period. Our results reveal that the banking sector experienced a significant efficiency improvement post-conflict even with unprecedented branch expansion. The findings, therefore, controvert the mainstream view that bank efficiency declined with rapid industry expansion. Further, we conclude that geographical expansion of the banking sector is a viable and effective policy tool to achieve broad-based and inclusive growth for emerging economies like Sri Lanka, particularly in a period of post-conflict recovery.     

数字普惠金融对中小企业经营效率的影响

数字普惠金融在近年来的发展越来越成熟,先后出现了数字金融、金融科技等一系列的新发展。从中小企业资产周转率的视角来研究数字普惠金融对中小企业经营效率的影响。结果表明,以资产周转率来衡量中小企业的经营效率时,数字普惠金融对其的影响是正向的,并且经过验证融资约束这个中介效应,结论也是成立的。中小企业合理地利用数字普惠金融,不仅能够加快资金周转,还能在技术鞭策下加快数字化转型。     

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Income Inequality Across US Regions

In this study we investigate the differences in income inequality among different racial/ethnic groups in the United States using both personal and household income. We find that income inequality is negatively related to the percentage of males but that the impact is muted for blacks as opposed to whites or Hispanics. In addition, we find income inequality among blacks and Hispanics is affected in vastly different ways, due to unemployment, than for whites. Finally, the impacts on inequality from the exclusion of given groups is significantly influenced by education and the percentage of males contributing to household income but not in a uniform manner for whites, blacks, and Hispanics.     

中国财政政策降低不平等的效应分析:嵌入失业风险的视角

本文通过构建一个包含个体失业风险的Hank模型来分析财政政策降低不平等的影响路径与政策效果。研究发现:(1)由于储蓄规则和流动性约束作用,不平等的加剧会增加总储蓄率,不利于向以消费为主的经济结构转型;(2)降低收入所得税对减轻不平等的效果取决于其累进程度,降低比例税可降低不平等,增加一般性转移支付对改善不平等效果不显著,但增加失业和贫困补贴可显著降低不平等,并提高具有高边际消费倾向的贫困家庭的消费,可实现公平与效率的兼顾;(3)提高技能有助于抵御失业风险带来的低收入风险。本文模型不仅与已有实证结果拟合程度较好,同时也为新时代全面脱贫、降低不平等和构建新发展格局提供新思路。     

Energy Price Shocks and Economic Activity in Texas Cities

It is not known how exogenous shocks in oil price impact city economies. This study examines unemployment rates in Texas cities in relation to oil price movements during the period 1995–2008. We find that unemployment in the bigger cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston, is not related to oil prices in a significant way when compared to unemployment in the smaller border cites, especially in Laredo. Although the Texas economy has become more diversified and less vulnerable to oil price movements in the last two decades, smaller border cities still experience the effect of oil price shocks, possibly through the neighboring economy of Mexico. Our data indicate significant variations in the unemployment rate in Laredo due to movements in oil price. We observe improvements in the unemployment rates in Laredo as oil price increases.     

Do Migrants Rob Jobs? New Evidence from Australia

This study contributes to the recent debate on immigration and unemployment in Australia by investigating the causal linkage between immigration and unemployment. The question of whether 'immigrants rob jobs' is examined by identifying the sources of unemployment through causal linkages between unemployment and other key variables such as immigration. The research finds no Granger causality between immigration and unemployment, but does run from industrial structural change to the high unemployment rate in Australia. This research also finds that both GDP growth and immigration inflow reinforce each other in the course of economic development in Australia.