Inequality and reforms in transition countries

Distributional patterns evolved quite differently and stabilized at diversified levels across the Central–Eastern European and former Soviet Union countries which underwent transition. In this paper we provide an overview of income inequality dynamics for 22 transition countries from 1989 to 2008 and of the explanations and interpretations proposed by the main literature. We then highlight that while the effects of different transition approaches on output dynamics and other macroeconomic aggregates have been largely analysed, scarce attention has been devoted so far to their impact on distributive patterns. However, this kind of analysis might usefully contribute to complete the complex picture of the many social, economic and structural factors affected by transition and provide useful policy insights for those countries still experiencing deep institutional change.     

商战中的不等式

世界上没有一成不变的定式,市场竞争的变量之间并非是完全对应的关系.加入WTO后的中国全球化竞争日趋激烈,国内企业自然要克服传统思维的影响,尽早破除陈规,积极创新发展.尤其要注意以下六个方面的"不等式".     

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.     

Interregional Inequality Dynamics in Mexico

Abstract

This paper examines 60 years of regional income inequality dynamics across the states of Mexico. Drawing on recent developments in exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) we examine the role of spatial clustering and heterogeneity in the evolution of regional inequality. We pay particular attention to the choice of the regionalization scheme that has been applied in previous work and we suggest a number of new approaches to evaluate the sensitivity of inferential conclusions to this choice. We also investigate if temporal shifts in equality are reflected in the NAFTA era.

Dynamique de l'inégalité interrégionale au Mexique

Résumé la présente communication se penche sur la dynamique des inégalités régionales entre les revenus pendant 60 ans dans les états du Mexique. Sur la base de développements récents dans les analyses exploratoires des données spatiales (ESDA), nous examinons le rôle du groupage et de l'hétérogénéité spatiaux dans l’évolution des inégalités régionales, en nous penchant tout particulièrement sur le choix du plan de régionalisation appliqué à des travaux précédents, et en proposant un certain nombre de méthodes nouvelles pour évaluer la sensibilité de conclusions déductives sur ce choix. En outre, nous tentons d’établir si des changements temporels dans les inégalités sont reflétés dans l’ère de NAFTA.

Dinámica de la desigualdad interregional en Méjico

Extracto Este trabajo examina 60 años en la dinámica de la desigualdad regional de ingresos a través de los estados de Méjico. Haciendo uso de desarrollos recientes en el análisis exploratorio de datos espaciales (ESDA) examinamos la función del agrupamiento espacial y la heterogeneidad en la evolución de la desigualad regional. Prestamos particular atención a la elección del esquema de regionalización que se ha aplicado en trabajo anterior y sugerimos varios planteamientos nuevos para evaluar la sensibilidad de conclusiones inferenciales de esta elección. También investigamos si los cambios temporales en igualdad se reflejan en la era NAFTA (Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte).

     

Intra-regional Wage Inequality in Portugal

Abstract

Studies on intra-regional inequality are scarce, particularly for European countries. This paper aims at further investigating inequality by focusing on wage differences within regions. We consider the case of Portugal, which is considered one of the countries with the highest level of economic inequality. In particular, we analyse the evolution of intra-regional wage inequality between 1995 and 2005, employing a quantile-based decomposition method. Our results show that wage inequality evolution has been different across the various regions, increasing in some regions and decreasing in others. Different changes in the workforce composition explain these diverse developments.     

Technologies in transition,policies in transition: foresight in the risk society

The emergence of formal Foresight programmes in science policy across Europe is examined in terms of government's response to the changes in, and especially the uncertainties of, contemporary innovation. The paper explores this through deploying Beck's notion of the “risk society”, asking how far Foresight can be construed as the management of new technologies by the transition towards the “negotiation state”. It shows how, through a discussion of the social management of new health technologies, a tension arises between the priorities and regimes of the new “negotiation” and those of the former “provident” (or welfare) state. The emergence of new technologies will be shaped by the institutional assumptions and processes operating within the different policy regimes.     

中国城乡居民住房不平等分析

随着中国城镇住房分配体制的转型,居民的居住条件在很大程度上依赖于家庭的收入水平,因此不断扩大的收入差距也在无形中影响着住房的不平等状况。基于2002年和2013年的城镇和农村的住户调查数据,本文从住房面积和房产价值两个角度分析中国农村和城镇居民住房不平等的总体状况。研究发现,在住房市场化体制建立和发展的过程中,虽然从财产所有权上的住房均等化有所提升,家庭居住面积有了很大的改善,但人均居住面积分布的不均等程度却进一步扩大。房产价值的不平等分析表明,虽然这一时期居民的住房财富高速增长,但城乡内部和城乡之间的房产差距都急剧扩大。基于回归分解的方法考察住房财富不平等的影响因素后发现,区域差异、收入差异和人力资本是造成居民房产价值分布差距不断扩大的重要因素。     

Symposium

An act of leadership is always an act of practical theory. We lead because we hold visions of the world as it ought to be, because of the not yet, because of the potential that we see in ideas and people. Yet, there still exists a perceived binary between leadership theory (in the strong sense) and leadership practice, a binary that divides organizations, classrooms, and the differing bodies of leadership literature. In this Symposium, Duncan Waite and his colleagues discuss the barriers they have faced in bringing theory to the educational leadership classroom, as well as the promise they feel theory holds for more productive, equitable, and humane schooling organizations.     

Symposium

The goal of this symposium is to bring researchers and practitioners together to seek out and build common frameworks for discussion. We hope to provide a meeting ground for dialogical discourse among diverse approaches to leadership theory and practice, with an eye to developing models for implementation. To facilitate interaction among participants, this symposium will regularly include invited responses to specific topics, such as appear in this issue around the topic of the globalization of leadership in business, health care, and education. In future issues, we plan to include opinions by leading figures in leadership research, as well as panel discussions around various practical issues in leadership research. We also invite candid reflective responses to issues and ideas encountered in this symposium. Please send responses to managingeditor@phoenix.edu. Note: Only those responses selected for publication will be acknowledged.     

Inequality and ability

This paper examines how much the increasing “residual inequality” in the United States can be explained by increasing returns to cognitive skills. Also, this paper uses selection-correction techniques to estimate the latent population distribution of unobservable skill within three occupational sectors, and breaks down the leftover “residual” term into a “general” unobservable component and a sector-specific unobservable component. The results indicate that sector-specific skills have played only a minor role in the inequality trends. Increasing “residual inequality” is mostly characterized by an increasing importance of general skills, either IQ or the general unobservable skill, within all three occupations.     

Symposium

The goal of this symposium is to bring researchers and practitioners together to seek out and build common frameworks for discussion. We hope to provide a meeting ground for dialogical discourse around diverse approaches to leadership theory and practice, with an eye to developing models for implementation. To facilitate interaction among participants, symposium will regularly include invited responses to specific topics of popular and scholarly leadership. In future issues, we plan to include individual opinions and panel discussions concerning various practical issues that are timely and relevant to leadership research. We also invite candid reflective responses to issues and ideas discussed in this symposium. Please send responses to managingeditor@phoenix.edu. Note: Only those responses selected for publication will be acknowledged. – The Editors     

Symposium

As far back as the ninth century BCE in Greece, a talent was a form of currency. In the 21st century, talents remain currency as the special gifts of knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics that individuals bring to organizations. Talent management, also known as human capital management, HCM, is a focus of leadership studies that increasingly strives to acknowledge and measure the tangible contributions that individuals make to the bottom line. In this symposium, we offer a position paper by Ted Harro and Leslie Miller who detail an innovative approach to address how leaders of organizations can create a consistent, positive flow of talent necessary to support success. Our respondents, Karen Kirwan, Dave Wondra, and Edward Perez, each add their perspectives to this timely discussion.     

Symposium

“Although American higher education can justifiably take pride in its capacity to develop the student's ability to manipulate the material world through its programs in science, medicine, technology, and commerce, it has paid relatively little attention to the student's “inner” development—the sphere of values and beliefs, emotional maturity, moral development, spirituality, and self‐understanding.” —from the Foreword to Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education by Alexander W. Astin and Helen S. Astin     

Homelessness and Inequality

Homelessness and housing insecurity in the United States are not so much a housing problem or a poverty problem as a visible sign that growing wealth inequality has left millions of people unable to earn enough to afford adequate housing. The classical economists David Ricardo and Henry George linked wealth inequality by arbitrage to unequal income and wages. The greater the inequality of wealth, the greater the inequality of income and the lower the wages at the bottom. Neoclassical economics has largely obscured this relationship. Consequently, proposals from both conservatives and liberals to address homelessness focus narrowly on housing. Ultimately, reducing wealth inequality requires national tax reform and a return to vigorous antitrust enforcement. However, cities can reduce local inequality by making property tax assessments uniform, or, better yet, by shifting to taxing land only.     

Inequality and capitalism

By participation in lotteries, people reject the goals of equality of outcome or of opportunity - fortunately because both are infeasible.     

Inequality and Growth in European Regions: Towards a Place-based Approach

Abstract

Does agglomeration matter for growth? This paper addresses this question by evaluating the impact that intra-regional income distribution has on regional growth in Europe. By using a spatially augmented Solow growth model, we investigate the convergence process among 188 EU regions between 1991 and 2004 and extend the traditional growth models to account for the impact of regional inequality on growth, as well as the effects of interaction among regions. Our assumption is that existing levels of inequality between sub-regional territorial units could positively contribute to regional economic growth in Europe, through the positive effects generated by the emergence of agglomeration economies. Our results show that while we cannot find any overall significant relationship in Europe between agglomeration and growth, once we distinguish between Objective 1 and Non-objective 1 regions we are able to find that agglomeration positively impacts subsequent growth, but only in the less developed regions.