Nonlinear adjustment to the mean reversion of consumption–income ratio

This study utilizes a flexible Fourier stationary test, proposed by Becker et al. (2006) to investigate the mean reversion of consumption–income ratio in 16 OECD countries from 1960 to 2010. Empirical results from our flexible nonlinear stationary test show that the mean reversion hypothesis is not rejected for 12 of the 16 OECD countries.     

Wage,income and consumption inequality in Japan, 1981–2008: From boom to lost decades

In this paper we document the main features of the distributions of wages, earnings, consumption and wealth in Japan since the early 1980s using four main data sources: the Basic Survey on Wage Structure (BSWS), the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure (NSFIE) and the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers (JPSC). We present an empirical analysis of inequality that specifically considers the path from individual wages and earnings, to household earnings, after-tax income, and finally consumption. We find that household earnings inequality rose substantially over this period. This rise is made up of two distinct episodes: from 1981 to 1996 all incomes rose, but they rose faster at higher percentiles; from 1996 to 2008 incomes above the 50th percentile remained flat but they fell at and below the 50th percentile. Inequality in disposable income and in consumption also rose over this period but to a lesser extent, suggesting taxes and transfers as well as insurance channels available to households helped to insulate household consumption from shocks to wages. We find the same pattern in inequality trends when we look over the life cycle of households as we do over time in the economy. Additionally we find that there are notable differences in the inequality trends for wages and hours between men and women over this period.     

Does consumption inequality track income inequality in Italy?

This paper presents stylized facts on labor supply, income, consumption, wealth, and several measures of consumption and income inequality drawn from the 1980–2006 Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW) conducted by the Bank of Italy. The SHIW provides information on consumption, income and wealth, and a sizable panel component that allows econometricians to estimate sophisticated income, consumption, and wealth processes and to analyze labor market and portfolio transitions. We find that over the sample period income inequality is higher and has grown faster than consumption inequality. Most of the increase in income inequality is related to an increase in the degree of earnings' instability rather than to shifts in the wage structure. We suggest that, in particular, the labor market reforms of the 1990s and 2000s are the most plausible explanation of the increased earnings inequality.     

The distribution of income in Sri Lanka in 1969–1970 and 1980–1981: A decomposition analysis

In 1977 the Sri Lankan government implemented a comprehensive policy of economic liberalization, removing many government controls on the economy and providing incentives for both foreign and domestic investment. The previous policies were often justified as necessary to maintain an equitable distribution of income. Income data from 1969–1970 and 1980–1981 surveys indicate that inequality has increased, but these data are shown to be unreliable for drawing conclusions on changes in the distribution of income. Expenditure data from the same surveys indicate that inequality has declined in the 1970's, both in the economy as a whole and within all sectors and ethnic groups.     

Is energy consumption effective to spur economic growth in Pakistan? New evidence from bounds test to level relationships and Granger causality tests

The present study investigates the relationship between energy (renewable and nonrenewable) consumption and economic growth using Cobb–Douglas production function in case of Pakistan over the period of 1972–2011. We have used the ARDL bounds testing and Gregory and Hansen (1990) structural break cointegration approaches for long run while stationarity properties of the variables have been tested applying Clemente-Montanes-Reyes (1998) structural break unit root test.Our results confirm cointegration between renewable energy consumption, nonrenewable energy consumption, economic growth, capital and labor in case of Pakistan. The findings show that both renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption add in economic growth. Capital and labor are also important determinants of economic growth. The VECM Granger causality analysis validates the existence of feedback hypotheses between renewable energy consumption and economic growth, nonrenewable energy consumption and economic growth, economic growth and capital.     

A bootstrap-corrected causality test: another look at the money–income relationship

Previous studies of the causal relationship between money supply and real output are based on asymptotic distributions. If the assumption of normality is not fulfilled and if ARCH effects are present, asymptotic distributions perform inaccurately. In this paper, we reinvestigate the potential causal relationship between money and output by applying an alternative methodology based on the leveraged bootstrapped simulation techniques using data from Denmark, Japan, Sweden, and the US. We find unidirectional causality from money to output for the sample countries except for Sweden for which causality is bi-directional. This finding of unidirectional causality between money and output supports monetary business-cycle models and reveals one important policy implication—that is, in looking for the sources of output fluctuations, money might be a major factor.

Predictability within the energy consumption–economic growth nexus: Some evidence from income and regional groups

In re-examining the nexus between energy consumption and economic growth through the predictability framework, we adopt a panel data predictive regression model to examine the possibility of growth, conservative, feedback, or neutrality hypotheses for 135 countries. A predictive regression model is fitted to panels of countries on the basis of location and level of economic development. Findings suggest strong support for the neutrality hypothesis. A developing economy panel (90 countries) favours the conservative hypothesis, although a panel of 32 lower middle-income countries suggests that energy consumption per capita predicts real GDP per capita. These forecasts could provide future policy directions.     

The Austrian income tax tariff, 1955–2006

Using official statistics and tax laws, we outline and discuss the evolution of the personal income tax in Austria since the beginning of the Second Republic in 1955. Focusing on the tax tariff and its progressivity properties, we identify a period of high (and increasing) progressivity before 1989, followed by a period of diminished progressivity since 1989. While still being a powerful revenue instrument, the Austrian income tax seems to have lost both redistributive impact and political allure.

The price–volume relationship in the crude oil futures market Some results based on linear and nonlinear causality testing

This article presents some evidence for the presence of a causal relationship between price and volume in the crude oil futures market. The results of linear causality testing reveal the presence of causality running from volume to price but not vice versa. While the results of testing for nonlinear causality are inconsistent, most of the evidence shows that causality runs in both directions. In general, there is evidence for the sequential information arrival hypothesis and the noise trading model, but not for market efficiency. There is also some evidence for the presence of a maturity or a liquidity effect. Finally, there is some variation in the results, depending on the sample period.     

Aggregation bias-correcting approach to the health–income relationship: Life expectancy and GDP per capita in 148 countries, 1970–2010

A large amount of data consisting of 148 countries for the years 1970 to 2010 is analysed in the context of the health–income relationship. The literature suggests that the biased income–health effect obtained with macro data can be a result of the aggregation of individual concave income functions on average health. This aggregation problem is analysed in detail, and a bias-correcting method is proposed to overcome it. The results with new model alternatives show that they correct the income effects on average health in the right direction; that is, they produce smaller parameter estimates than biased models. Augmenting the results with the quantile regression approach, which is sensitive to health differences between countries, indicates that the poorest countries’ income gradient is still much larger than that of rich countries. However, the median life expectancy effect of the log of GDP per capita across the countries decreased during the sample decennials. The results for income inequality measured with the Gini coefficient indicate that the effects of inequality on health are still significant in the poorest countries but non-significant among rich countries after the year 2000. We argue that the proposed bias-correcting method retains the interest in macro health modelling and offers new model alternatives in other contexts.     

The evolution of income inequality in the European Union during the period 1993–1996

The objective of this work is to analyse the income inequality in the 15 EU countries during the convergence process to the Monetary Union, using the information contained in the European Community Household Panel, corresponding to the four first waves. Using the inverse second order stochastic dominance concept, an ordering of these countries has been carried out. Furthermore, this ranking allows one to determine if the differences among EU country members have increased or decreased during this particular period. Whether the inequality of income has diminished within and between countries over time was studied. Gini's generalized family indices proposed by Donaldson and Weymark (Journal of Economic Theory 22: 67–86, 1980 and 29: 353–8, 1983) and Yitzhaki (International Economic Review 24: 617–28, 1983) have been used. This allows one to test the sensitivity of the results obtained to different degrees of inequality aversion and to different equivalence scales, taking into account household sizes.     

Financial constraints and cash–cash flow sensitivity

This article explores the cash–cash flow relationship by comparing financially constrained and financially unconstrained companies. Unlike previous research, we test the sensitivity of cash to cash flow by considering unlisted firms as constrained and listed firms as unconstrained. Our empirical evidence is based on findings from Spanish firms and is consistent with the core rationale that unlisted firms face more difficulties than their listed counterparts when looking for funding from external markets. As a result, unlisted firms tend to hoard significant amounts of cash out of the generated cash flow, while listed firms do not. Our findings are robust to a number of additional empirical tests.     

Granger causality tests among openness to international trade,human capital accumulation and economic growth in China: 1952–1999

Abstract

This study examines Granger causality among openness to international trade, human capital accumulation and economic growth in China using time series data over the period from 1952 to 1999 and a sub-period, i.e. a period from 1978 to 1999. For the 1952–1999 period, economic growth is found to Granger cause human capital accumulation and not vice versa. For the 1978–1999 period, economic growth and openness to international trade, economic growth and human capital accumulation, and human capital accumulation and openness to international trade are found to have bidirectional Granger causality, respectively. Thus, there is a dynamic relationship among openness to international trade, human capital accumulation and economic growth. The experience of economic reform in China could be an example to other developing countries.     

Profit-sharing versus interest-taking in the Kaldor–Pasinetti theory of income and profit distribution

Abstract

This paper reformulates the Kaldor–Pasinetti model of income and profit distribution by introducing the interest rate from the very outset of the model but maintaining other Kaldor–Pasinetti assumptions intact. It is shown that the profit rate and the share of profits in national income are not independent from either the capitalists' or workers' propensity to save. Many contributors to the theory of income and profit distribution have erred in attributing a potentially positive impact of the interest rate upon profits. The interest rate is always and everywhere a tax on functional and personal incomes together. This result explains Schumpeter's observation that ‘Interest acts as a tax upon profit.’ In an alternative model, workers receive a share of profits instead of fixed contractual interest. It is shown that the profit rate and share are not independent from either propensity to save. Furthermore, the workers' share of profits has a positive impact on the rate and share of profits. This implies that a profit sharing regime could be more conducive to capital accumulation and job creation. It is found that Pasinetti's Cambridge Equation is more akin to a profit sharing regime.     

Regional income convergence in Indochina 1970–2015?

Real incomes have been increasing relatively fast in the Indochina region but there are still large differences in income levels between the six member countries. Based on the various sources of national accounts data, it seems that the low-income countries have experienced the highest growth rates. Time series tests of convergence, in this case catching-up to the relatively high-income level in Malaysia, confirm that Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have narrowed the income gap during the last two decades.     

Volatility–volume causality across single stock spot–futures markets in India

This study examines the causal relationships between volatility and volume across spot and futures market for the 50 constituent stocks of the CNX NIFTY Index. Granger non-causality tests implemented using vector autoregression (VAR) and asymmetric VAR models indicate the presence of significant causal relations from both the spot and futures volume to both the spot and futures volatility. Bidirectional causal relationships between spot and futures volume were observed for almost all stocks but few stocks displayed a similar relationship between volatilities. The results highlight the importance of volume in absorbing information and its behaviour as the conduit of information.     

The opening of the North–South divide: Cumulative causation,household income disparity and the regional bonus in Taiwan 1976–2005

During the last decades regional income divergence seems to have reappeared in both developed and developing countries. In Taiwan – a renowned case of growth with equity – regional per capita income was converging until the early 1990s after which it began to diverge. With the help of modeled annual household survey data from 1976 to 2005 we indicate the magnitude of a regional bonus and discuss reasons behind the re-opening of the North–South income divide in Taiwan. Our analysis suggests that this process is a consequence of cumulative causation connected to the advent of the rise of ICT industry in conjunction with changes in Taiwan's political economy which provided relatively more advantageous economic opportunities for the industrial structure of the leading region.     

The role of education and household composition for transitory and permanent income inequality–evidence from PSID data

Transitory and permanent shocks to income have been shown to be important determinants of household consumption. This paper shows that there are significant differences in the trends of transitory and permanent income inequality between demographic groups since the 1980s. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, educational attainment and the composition of a household are found to play a key role. While permanent inequality increases steadily for educated households, it is flat over large parts of the sample period for the less educated households. Transitory inequality increases for all households headed by couples whereas it is constant for single households. Altogether, permanent shocks account for a larger part of the income variance of educated households whereas transitory shocks are relatively more important for the less educated. These results are able to shed light on the transmission of changes in income inequality to consumption inequality.     

The income inequality curve in the last 100 years: What happened to the Inverted-U?

This paper examines the shape of the curve that represents the long-run relationship between income inequality and economic growth, using data from four developed countries (USA, UK, France, and Germany) over the period 1915 – 2014. The analysis is carried using a panel data technique (fixed, random, and interactive effects) that takes into account common shocks. We find that in the long-term, this curve has the shape of an “N-shape” and that the Kuznets curve does not explain this path. We also present many factors that may affect the path of inequality up or down, the most important is political, economic and demographic, specifically technological change, globalization, social transfers, economic policies, trade unions, taxation, education, war, and epidemics.