Search

We study the first‐order stochastic dominance (SD) test in the context of two independent random samples. We introduce several test statistics that effectively capture violations of the dominance relationship, particularly in the tail regions. Additionally, we develop a resampling procedure to compute the p‐values or critical values for these tests. The proposed tests have asymptotic type I error rates for frontal configurations equal to the nominal level α. Furthermore, their powers approach 1 for any fixed alternatives. Through simulation experiments, we demonstrate that our SD tests outperform the recentring test proposed by Donald and Hsu (2016) as well as the integral‐type test presented by Linton et al. (2010) in various scenarios discussed in existing literature. We also employ the proposed tests to analyze changes in the distribution of household income in the United Kingdom over time. The proposed tests offer some insights into potential dominance relationships within this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article undertakes a theoretical post-Keynesian analysis to explore the relationship between inflation, unemployment, and inequality. Firstly, we show the compatibility of the inequality-augmented Phillips curve, which first appeared in Rolim, Carvalho, and Lang (2023), with the post-Keynesian macroeconomic theory. The curve combines the Phillips curve, which relates unemployment and inflation and can be derived from the conflicting-claims inflation model, with the positive relation between unemployment and inequality due to the heterogeneous impact of unemployment on workers. The unemployment rate thus connects the inflation rate to income inequality in a three-dimensional relationship described by the inequality-augmented Phillips curve, which indicates a possible trade-off between low inflation and low inequality. Secondly, we consider the profits inflation case: when inflation is simultaneous with markup increases. Increases in the ex-ante markup rate shift the curve upwards, thus increasing the inflation rate and inequality. In this context, if monetary policy aims to control inflation by increasing unemployment, it will operate along the inequality-augmented Phillips curve and will further increase inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory data analysis (EDA) for functional data—data objects where observations are entire functions—is a difficult problem that has seen significant attention in recent literature. This surge in interest is motivated by the ubiquitous nature of functional data, which are prevalent in applications across fields such as meteorology, biology, medicine and engineering. Empirical probability density functions (PDFs) can be viewed as constrained functional data objects that must integrate to one and be nonnegative. They show up in contexts such as yearly income distributions, zooplankton size structure in oceanography and in connectivity patterns in the brain, among others. While PDF data are certainly common in modern research, little attention has been given to EDA specifically for PDFs. In this paper, we extend several methods for EDA on functional data for PDFs and compare them on simulated data that exhibit different types of variation, designed to mimic that seen in real‐world applications. We then use our new methods to perform EDA on the breakthrough curves observed in gas transport simulations for underground fracture networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that older people are more satisfied with their finances than younger individuals, even when they have a low income. We examine to what extent this can be observed when studying the risk of subjective economic hardship among the adult population in 28 European countries. Our study describes the association between age and the risk of subjective economic hardship and how the association varies by level of income. Additionally, we examine the role of assets and debt in explaining the association. The data come from the 2020 EU-SILC survey and its ad-hoc module on over-indebtedness, consumption, and wealth. We estimate logistic regression models that control for country-level variation. We show that there is substantial variation across Europe regarding how the likelihood of experiencing subjective economic hardship varies by age. The income position of different age groups explains, to a large extent, the different age patterns for hardship across countries. When controlling for country-level variation and level of income, older people are less likely than younger age groups to experience subjective economic hardship. We find indications that older people have a lower risk of subjective economic hardship especially in the lower bottom of the income distribution. Older people's lower risk seems to be largely explained by their more frequent ability to use savings to maintain their standard of living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces an innovative tool to analyse how various inequality factors, including geography, race, and gender, contribute to overall inequality. Traditional approaches typically partition populations into groups based on a single factor and assess inequality by additively decomposing an inequality measure into within- and between-group components. After discussing the theoretical impossibility of additively decomposing the Gini index into within- and between-group components, in fact, we propose a Gini decomposition into two highly informative within- and between-components, with substantial improvement upon the usual assessment of horizontal inequality. This method represents a significant advancement over the traditional horizontal inequality assessment, which only compares group means and overlooks the complexities of differences between groups. Our approach accurately captures the nuances of group disparities, offering a robust measure of horizontal inequality. Through rigorous simulations and empirical analysis of the OECD Income Distribution Database, we validate the effectiveness of our method in evaluating and understanding inequality. This work enriches the toolkit available to researchers in the field by offering a framework for selecting the most suitable measure of horizontal inequality, along with the code for implementing the proposed decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The half-normal distribution is composited with the Pareto model to obtain a uni-parametric distribution with a heavy right tail, called the composite half-normal-Pareto distribution. This new distribution is useful for modeling positive data with atypical observations. We study the properties and the behavior of the right tail of this new distribution. We estimate the parameter using a method based on percentiles and the maximum likelihood method and assess the performance of the maximum likelihood estimator using Monte Carlo. We report three applications, one with simulated data and the others with income and expenditure data, in which the new distribution presents better performance than the Pareto distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the Quebec model of social policy reflect a public opinion more favorable to public services and to income redistribution? To answer this question, the authors use three series of surveys on two core issues of the comparative study of citizens' preferences for the welfare state: support for income redistribution (1986 to 2021) and preferences for the size of public services (2019 to 2023). In all survey series, they observe significantly higher support for redistribution and public services among Quebec respondents than among respondents in other provinces, although respondents in the Atlantic provinces also maintain strong support. Conservative voters and richer citizens are significantly less supportive of public services and redistribution outside Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies on emerging economies contend that increasing returns to human capital has contributed to the growth of wage inequality over the last few decades. However, this explanation fails to account for an important dynamic of contemporary wage inequality: the growth of top labor incomes. Research on advanced economies show the emergence of a wage premium in the financial sector increased top labor incomes, but studies have yet to investigate whether a financial wage premium is contributing to the growth of top labor incomes in emerging economies. The present study addresses this theoretical and empirical gap by conceptualizing and measuring the financial wage premium across the distributions of labor income in the most important subset of emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). Drawing on harmonized labor force data from the Luxembourg Income Study, we utilize unconditional quantile regression modeling and treatment effect estimation to examine the financial wage premium across the distributions of labor income in the BRIC before and after the Great Recession. Consistent with studies on advanced economies, we find a substantial wage premium among top earners in the financial sectors of the BRIC, which has grew in the post-recession period. However, we find significant variation in size and growth of the financial wage premium because of the variegated nature of financialization across the BRIC. We conclude by suggesting that subsequent studies should explore the heterogeneous effects of subordinate and state financialization on wage dynamics in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as a measure of economic growth has been recently subject to wide criticism by many economists. It has been observed that although some countries have experienced economic growth in recent years, income inequality and poverty continue to be exacerbated. Recently, sustainable development goal 8 has been geared to promote inclusive growth. Considering this fact, this study expands the literature by examining the relationship between tourism development and inclusive growth for a panel of 44 African countries over the period 2000–2020. Further, the study also adds to the literature by examining the moderation of governance quality on the tourism‐inclusive growth nexus. The investigation is made using the generalized method of moments as an estimation technique. The result indicates that tourism and governance quality appear to promote inclusive growth. Moreover, the results indicate that good quality of institutions or governance could complement tourism development to promote inclusive growth, as positive synergies are apparent from the role of governance in moderating the incidence of tourism on inclusive growth. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic (COVID‐19) has severely affected global economies and Pakistan. The core focus of this study is to analyse income inequality before and after the pandemic in developing economies and other urbanised areas of Pakistan. Gini coefficient has been employed to estimate income inequality for developing economies and Pakistan, whereas the Theil index is assessed across the regions, provinces and other urban areas of Pakistan. For that purpose, the study has worked on 'special survey evaluating the Socio‐economic Impact of COVID‐19 on the well‐being of people' published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. This study focuses on seeing the consequences of COVID‐19, especially in the context of income inequality caused by the lockdown imposed in the countries in hand. Further, determinants of income inequality are estimated before and after the pandemic. This study anticipates that fair income distribution is the only solution to decrease disparities. Moreover, to achieve goal 10 of Sustainable Development Goal, it is significant to work on provision of opportunities that help in increasing the income opportunities for the underprivileged segment of society. This solution is achievable only if the provision of education and employment increases, eventually reducing the ever‐increasing wage gap in the long run. So far no study has empirically evaluated the impact of income inequality caused by the pandemic in Pakistan on the district level. The novelty of the study is that it has assessed the impact of income inequality before and after the pandemic in developing economics and than evaluated the urbanized areas of Pakistan on the basis of income inequality post and pre‐pandemic situation, hence fill the research gap as no study so far has been done on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using new experimental panel data for Germany, I investigate the role of income misperceptions for welfare restrictive preferences toward European Union immigrants. A majority of respondents misperceive their relative income position in Germany and the European Union and demand that European Union immigrants work and pay taxes before obtaining equal rights to social benefits. Randomized treatments inform subjects about their position in the national and European Union income distribution. My results provide evidence that welfare restrictive preferences are formed in the context of misperceived own income positions: Respondents become more welfare restrictive when they learn about a higher national or lower European Union income position. Information about European Union misperceptions has a persistent treatment effect after 3 months, driven by respondents with larger initial misperceptions, but becomes insignificant after one year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, most advanced economies have massively 'flexibilized' their labour markets by reducing the protection against layoffs and introducing temporary and flexible contracts. Concurrently, a well-established economic stylized fact – the stability of the wage share of income – has been challenged as empirical evidence reveals a substantial decline in labour share across numerous countries. In this study, we aim to empirically investigate the causal link between these two phenomena by examining the impact of changes in the regulation of fixed-term contracts, as measured by variation over time in the temporary contracts EPL index, on the functional distribution of income. We employ Jordà's local projection method for a panel of 18 advanced countries over the period 1985–2019 and show that reforms that deregulate fixed-term contracts consistently reduce the wage share. • The wage share has declined in many countries in recent decades. • The study investigates the impact of fixed-term contract protection reforms on functional income distribution. • Local projections are applied to EPL variations for a sample of 18 advanced economies over the period 1985–2019. • A nonlinear analysis is conducted to explore the effects of flexibilization and tightening reforms. • The results indicate that deregulating fixed-term contracts leads to a significant reduction in the wage share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Unveiling insights into the Chinese low consumption puzzle by emphasizing the impact of monopolistic and strategic land supply on the final consumption rate. • Monopolistic land supply suppresses the final consumption rate by expanding government income share and widening urban-rural income gaps. • Strategic land supply suppresses the final consumption rate by driving up the share of capital income and housing prices. • Reducing land transaction monopolies and optimizing supply structures can yield substantial benefits for economic rebalancing. The challenge of low consumption presents a complex development issue in China, one that has been insufficiently analyzed through the lens of land supply. This paper introduces a fresh perspective to the Chinese low consumption puzzle by shedding light on the constraints imposed by monopolistic/strategic land supply on the final consumption rate. Our findings reveal that China's distinctive land supply patterns systematically restrict consumption, as monopolistic land supply hinders total consumption by widening the share of government sector income and the urban-rural income gap. Additionally, strategic land supply curtails consumption by increasing the share of capital income and driving up housing prices. This study underscores the significance of land supply-side reforms in bolstering consumption, offering valuable policy insights for China and other transitioning economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pasinetti's Natural Economic System gives an important reference to the analysis of the structural changes in a growing economy. • The natural rate of profit is given by the rate of profit to the wage (r w) in our Sraffian aggregate model. • The pure labour theory of value is compatible with the positive rate of profit in the aggregates. • The standard productivity index gives the base to combine the changes in sectoral labour productivities, the average productivity, income distribution, and commodity prices. Pasinetti's (1981) natural economic system is a central idea of Pasinetti's structural economic dynamics, which explains various features of a growing economy, focusing on an evolving structure of commodity prices, an evolving structure of production, and the time pass of the wage rate and the rate of profit (Pasinetti, 1981 , p.128). It exhibits three core properties: first, the sum of the growth rate of the quantity of labour and the growth rate of demand or the growth rate of labour productivity determines the rate of profit (the natural rate of profit). Second, under a 'positive' natural rate of profit, the quantity of labour commanded by a commodity equals the quantity of labour embodied in the commodity (a pure labour theory of value). Finally, equal rewards should be paid for equal amounts of homogenous labour (the basic principle of equal rewards). These core properties were examined, using our Sraffian discrete-time models corresponding to the three cases. The first model explains the simple case of a growing economy with no technical change and an invariant composition of demand. The second model treats the difference between the actual net product and the standard net product, assuming no technical change and an invariant composition of demand. The third model explains the occurrence of technical progress in a growing economy. The validity of three core properties of the natural economic system in Pasinetti (1981) is examined by three Sraffian models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social insurance motivations consider the welfare of others who are in potentially unfavorable situations. However, their role in increasing support for redistribution is not yet fully understood. The experiment reported here examined distributional decisions in which participants determined income distribution without being informed to which income class they would belong. This was contrasted with decisions made in lottery situations. Lottery decisions had the same risk for oneself, but they lacked a social context, namely the influence on the incomes of others. Less risky (more equal) decisions were observed in distributional decisions than in lottery decisions. Further, the selection of equality in distributional decisions (but not the risk aversion observed in lottery decisions) was positively correlated with support for welfare policies, which had been measured by a pre-experiment survey. This study observed the critical role of social context, which promotes the consideration of the welfare of others in fostering support for redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restrictive monetary policy can not only fail to achieve the conventional macroeconomic goal of controlling inflation but also be seen as responsible for the increasing income inequality that has occurred in recent decades. This result is not clear, however, if one remains bounded to the traditional monetary policy transmission mechanisms and conventional models. In this article, we create an agent-based, stock-flow consistent, heterodox disequilibrium model to analyse and evaluate the effects of different basic interest rate levels, especially its distributive effects. Using computer simulations, we show that the basic interest rate plays a key role when firms compete in oligopolistic markets and face financial constraints and costs. In such circumstances, increases in the interest rate can be responsible for price increases, creating the price puzzle problem. In addition, it forces redistribution of income in favour of the financial system and pressures the profit rate of industrial firms, which will raise prices and lower the wage share. The final distributive effect of an interest rate policy will ultimately depend on the power of these agents: the bargaining power of the workers to claim higher wages and the market power of the firms to raise prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a model of North–South trade and development and investigates the growth rates of two countries under a trade pattern that the North specializes in investment goods while the South specializes in consumption goods. Many studies on North–South trade conclude that both countries' growth rates are equalized in the long run. Conversely, we show that if the ‘comparative advantage’ is explicitly considered, both countries' growth rates are not equalized in some cases and, hence, the South cannot catch up with the North even in the long run. Unlike many previous studies, we close the model by fixing each country's income distribution and making the price and quantity variables interdependent. Our results show that the growth rates of both countries are equalized in the long run if their trade patterns are fixed, irrespective of their comparative advantages, whereas their growth rates are not equalized in some cases if their trade patterns are determined by the comparative advantage principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the common wealth of all people is the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Measuring the process of realizing common wealth and the differences between groups is one of the important issues that need to be addressed urgently. In order to reasonably measure the process of realizing common wealth in China, on the premise of horizontal comparability and vertical consistency, the principles of comparability and consistency are introduced, and a comparative method of opportunity advantage based on income distribution is proposed from the perspective of opportunity equity. Using the 2012–2020 CFPS data to measure and test the opportunity advantages and their differences across regions and groups in China. The study found, firstly, that the opportunity advantage persists but tends to diminish across groups, with the more educated group having a more pronounced opportunity advantage, but that this advantage is diminishing over time. Secondly, the doctoral degree group has a greater probability of earning higher incomes, followed by the master's and bachelor's degree groups, but this opportunity advantage, i.e., the probability of earning higher incomes, is diminishing, i.e., the education dividend is diminishing. Third, the difference in opportunity advantage between urban and rural areas still exists, as evidenced by the greater probability of higher incomes in towns than in rural areas, but this advantage has narrowed further over time, with a clear process of urban-rural integration. Fourthly, in terms of gender, men have a certain opportunity advantage over women, but this difference is not significant. Fifthly, in the context of education levels, gender and urban/rural subgroups, under the framework proposed in this paper, China has achieved some success in the process of realizing the common wealth, and is showing a steady upward trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on income distributions within and across countries are becoming increasingly important for informing analysis of income inequality and understanding the distributional consequences of climate change. While datasets on income distribution collected from household surveys are available for multiple countries, these datasets often do not represent the same concept of inequality (or income concept) and therefore make comparisons across countries, over time and across datasets difficult. Here, we present a consistent dataset of income distributions across 190 countries from 1958 to 2015 measured in terms of net income. We complement the observed values in this dataset with values imputed from a summary measure of the income distribution, specifically the Gini coefficient. For the imputation, we use a recently developed nonparametric principal-component-based approach that shows an excellent fit to data on income distributions compared to other approaches. We also present another version of this dataset aggregated from the country level to 32 geographical regions. Our dataset is developed for the purpose of calibrating models such as integrated human–Earth system models with detailed data on income distributions. This dataset will enable more robust analysis of income distribution at multiple scales. The latest version of our data are available on Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.7093997 (Narayan et al., 2022b). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of up-to-date data has hindered recent research on China's income and wealth inequality. This article fills this void by bringing current official and private data sources looking at these inequalities. The authors further investigate the underlying structural and sectoral policies causing these disparities. They find that the top 1% income share roughly equals that of the bottom 50%. The personal wealth share going to the top 1% exceeds by 5 times the wealth going to the bottom 50%. Failures in redistributive policies have primarily caused these growing income and wealth gaps. Sectoral and national development policies favoring the real estate industry at the expense of the manufacturing industry have also resulted in large-scale wealth shifts, with Chinese households holding increasing housing assets and residential mortgages. This article shows that Piketty's patrimonial capitalism not only applies to capitalist countries but also extends to China's socialist market economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the large evidence of the recent globalization phenomenon at national level, very little is known about the involvement of regional economies in Global Value Chains (GVCs). Instead, the regional dimension of GVCs is of primary importance since regions require an absolute advantage to be part of an international production chain. It can in fact be easily the case that within the same country both the participation and the gains from GVCs strongly differ among regions. In going to the territorial roots of GVCs, the paper aims to conceptualize a taxonomy of different modes in which regions can be involved in GVCs, based on different intensity of participation and rewarding conditions. Based on regional trade in value added matrices, the taxonomy is applied to the manufacturing sector at NUTS2 regions in Europe, combining two indicators of regional participation and 'terms of trade' imposed in the chain. Although national patterns are visible, and a clear divide between Eastern and Western Europe emerges, the modes of involvement are highly diversified within countries. Moreover, through a multinomial logit model, the local characteristics associated with the different roles that regions can have within GVCs are looked for. Their identification has far-reaching normative consequences that intervene in the capacity of regions to gain from participation in GVCs, and to mitigate the interregional income distribution effects that this involvement may cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schemes to replace traditional welfare programmes with a universal basic income (UBI) are sometimes presented as a way to reduce overall economic inequality. But because they lower the implicit marginal taxation rate of individuals entering the workforce, they have the effect of increasing economic inequality between those who opt out of the workforce and those who choose to participate. This article examines the effect that an increase in this income gap can be expected to have on the perceived adequacy of the UBI payment level as an alternative to paid employment. The first question involves the extent to which individuals living on UBI payments will assess the adequacy of their condition by comparing themselves to those who are adjacent to them in the income distribution. If this looms large in their assessment, then the UBI, by increasing inequality within this segment of the income distribution, will tend to increase the perception of its own inadequacy. The second question involves the importance of the consumption of positional goods in determining the adequacy of the UBI. If these are significant then again this will increase the perception of inadequacy, because those in paid employment will enjoy a great deal more than those who opt out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been determined on the basis of the analysis of official statistical data, the changes in the employment structure in the Sharur administrative district during the last 10 years (2009-2019), and the factors influencing the formation of the population's employment in the article. In the Sharur administrative district, the number dynamics, gender and age composition of the population, settlement of the able-bodied population in villages and cities, changes of the economically active population over the years, as well as the distribution of the population by economic activities have been analyzed. The reasons why the economically active population works more in various fields of agriculture were analyzed, and negative and positive factors affecting the structure of employment in the region were noted. Statistical data are shown and compared with tables and charts. The differences in the working population according to employment status were analyzed according to the statistical data of 2009 and 2019. The changes in the wage-earning and self-employed population over the years, the gender composition, and the settlement of the population working in these fields were recorded and compared on the basis of the data recorded in the tables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial transfer has the functions of allocating financial resources and income redistribution, which is of great significance to reduce the income gap. From the perspective of financial transfer, based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 1998 to 2019, this manuscript introduces the bilateral stochastic frontier method, constructs a measurement model of farmers' income distribution including the influence channels of financial transfer, and tests the effect of different financial transfer channels on Farmers' income distribution. The empirical results show that the financial transfer within the sample interval increases the income distribution of farmers, which shows the distribution characteristics of "differentiation at both ends and convergence in the middle" in general. There are obvious differences in the impact of different financial transfer paths on Farmers' income distribution. Farmers' income distribution is directly proportional to inflation, and inversely proportional to financial and educational expenditure and rural economic growth. Under the two characteristic factors of regional factors and rural financial development level, the impact of financial transfer on Chinese farmers' income distribution shows heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial for the advancement of political economics and innovation economics to examine the relationship between income inequality and green innovation (GI). Using the panel fixed effect model, this study investigates the influence of income inequality on GI across 97 countries from 1991 to 2018 and demonstrates a significant non-linear association between the two. The empirical data exhibit an inverted U-shape relationship, suggesting that there is an optimal degree of income inequality that optimizes GI output, and the inflection point of our overall sample is at a Gini coefficient of 0.366. Additionally, we choose a set of robustness tests to validate the results by substituting explained variables, adding omitted variables, and employing the difference and system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimations. Moreover, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the non-linear patterns vary among samples, with the U-shape relationship being more significant in countries with lower income, higher corruption, and weaker government effectiveness. Our findings provide government decision-makers with a crucial reference for maximizing the importance of income distribution in fostering GI and achieving sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lorenz curve is used to describe the relationship between the cumulative proportion of household income and the number of households of an economy. The extent to which the Lorenz curve deviates from the line of equality (i.e., y = x) is quantified by the Gini coefficient. Prior models are based on the simulated and empirical data of income distributions. In biology, the Lorenz curves of cell or organ size distributions tend to have similar shapes. When the Lorenz curve is rotated by 135 degrees counterclockwise and shifted to the right by a distance of 2 , a three-parameter performance equation (PE), and its generalized version with five parameters (GPE), accurately describe this rotated and right-shifted curve. However, in prior studies, PE and GPE were not compared with the other Lorenz equations, and little is known about whether the skewness of the distribution could influence the validity of these equations. To address these two issues, simulation data from the beta distributions with different skewness values and six empirical datasets of plant (organ) size distributions were used to compare PE and GPE with three other Lorenz equations in describing the rotated and right-shifted plant (organ) size distributions. The root-mean-square error and Akaike information criterion were used to assess the validity of the two performance equations and the three other Lorenz equations. PE and GPE were both validated in describing the rotated and right-shifted simulation and empirical data of plant (organ) distributions. Nevertheless, GPE worked better than PE and the three other Lorenz equations from the perspectives of the goodness of fit, and the trade-off between the goodness of fit and the model structural complexity. Analyses indicate that GPE provides a powerful tool for quantifying size distributions across a broad spectrum of organic entities and can be used in a variety of ecological and evolutionary applications. Even for the simulation data from hypothetical extreme skewed distribution curves, GPE still worked well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article aims to analyze the evolution of income inequality and mobility in Spain during the period 1999–2011 by exploiting data from personal income tax returns. Methods: To assess the evolution of inequality over the period analyzed, we have used some of the many metrics developed for this purpose, each of which offers a different approach depending on the segment of the income distribution they focus on (Gini coefficient, income shares, generalized entropy index, and the Atkinson class of measures). Results: Our results suggest that, after a period of slightly declining income inequality, Spain experienced a rise in inequality in the years immediately preceding the Great Recession, before falling back to precrisis levels. With regard to income mobility, during this period, it was more common for individuals in the middle of the distribution to experience changes, while those at the top and bottom maintained a more stable position. Conclusions: The economic boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the Great Recession, had a significant impact on income inequality and mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite some progress in reducing income inequality between countries over the last two decades, there is evidence that income inequality is on the rise within nations. This article uses panel data compiled from multiple sources and a growth curve modeling approach to examine the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and within-nation income inequality across two samples: one comprising 2,095 country-year observations nested in 141 countries from 1991 to 2018 to explore the broader FDI-income inequality relationship, and a second, more focused sample of 405 country-year observations nested in 61 countries from 2000 to 2018, designed to analyze effects of the sectoral distribution of FDI. The analyses find that the relationship between FDI and income inequality is positive and linear for non-OECD economies but follows an inverted U-shaped path for developed countries. Moreover, in this article, I have developed and introduced two new indices, the FDI Pluralism Index and FDI Sectoral Gini Coefficient, to measure the distribution of FDI among the sectors of the host economy. Results show that a concentration of FDI in one sector aggravates income inequality since foreign capital tends to flow into the most profitable industries, creating uneven growth between sectors and increasing between-sector income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to simulate total factor productivity, following the original proposal made by Cobb and Douglas (1928). Estimates with annual frequency are computed for the United States during two periods, i.e. 1899-1992 and 1933-2019. In the case of Mexico, estimates are computed for the 1993-2015 period. An income distribution in favor of capital in recent decades is found both for the United States and México. Capital share has grown in the United States from 25% in 1899-1922 to 89% in 1993-2019, while for Mexico it has been 82% for 1993-2015. Functional income distribution requires close monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is twofold: on the one hand, to provide evidence of the positive association between the inflation rate and the labor share in the US; on the other, to show that monetary policy slows inflation by depressing the labor share. With the help of Bayesian econometrics, the paper shows evidence of a conflict Phillips curve. Furthermore, a structural vector autoregressive model reveals the detrimental effects of interest rate hikes on the labor share. Together, these results mean the monetary policy of administered interest rates resolves the class conflict in favor of capital to control inflation. Scrutiny of the US monetary policy development and a model of a controlled predator-prey system prepare the way for the empirical sections. Finally, the paper concludes that controlling the distributive conflict matters for impinging on inflation and that the Fed might follow alternative monetary rules to cease being the third party participating in the distributive conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent post-Keynesian debate on conflict inflation revolves around plausible magnitudes of the parameters of the standard model. We assess this debate by examining the economic meaning of the ‘bargaining’ and ‘indexation’ parameters, and proposing a reinterpretation in which the bargaining power is reflected in the relative frequency of wage and price increases in a period. Inflation then depends on the size of the inconsistent distributive claims and the absolute frequency of wage and price increases. Distribution depends on the relative frequency of such increases. From the latter we derive the real wage and profit resistance parameters, which determine the structural degree of inflation inertia. By adding the employment rate as a determinant of the desired real wage, we get a conflict-augmented Phillips curve. We show how different assumptions on the real resistance parameters affect the shape of the Phillips curve and the distributive outcomes in different conflict inflation models. A NAIRU occurs only when there is both full real wage and real profit resistance. Conflict generates inflation (not acceleration) with less extreme assumptions. The old-type conflict-augmented Phillips curve, with income distribution depending on the relative frequency of wage and price adjustments, is the most plausible case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSoon after WWII, France adopted a form of economic planning which became afterwards known as “indicative planning”. François Perroux paid great attention to French planning and linked his reflections on planning to both his criticism of neoclassical approach and his proposal of some new theoretical tools for economic analysis. Perroux’s critiques of neoclassical economics involved both the kind of assumptions adopted and the neglect of some aspects that for him were crucial to economic analysis: the differences and inequalities among agents, the presence of economic and social groups, the role of power, and state activity. To contrast and overcome those shortcomings, Perroux elaborated some conceptual tools that are the pillars of his economic analysis. Main aim of this paper is to inquire into Perroux’s contribution to the debate on economic planning that rose in the light of the French experience. The focus is especially on the Fourth Plan which Perroux took particularly into consideration and critically evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a vast concern about high income inequality in Thailand as opposed to empirical findings around the world showing people's preference for fair income inequality over unfair income equality, it is therefore important to examine whether inequality in income distribution in Thailand over the past three decades is fair, and what fair inequality in income distribution in Thailand should be. To quantitatively measure fair income distribution, this study employs the fairness benchmarks that are derived from the distributions of athletes' salaries in professional sports which satisfy the concepts of distributive justice and procedural justice, the no-envy principle of fair allocation, and the general consensus or the international norm criterion of a meaningful benchmark. By using the data on quintile income shares and the income Gini index of Thailand from the National Social and Economic Development Council, this study finds that, throughout the period from 1988 to 2021, the Thai income earners in the bottom 20%, the second 20%, and the top 20% receive income shares more than the fair shares whereas those in the third 20% and the fourth 20% receive income shares less than the fair shares. Provided that there are infinite combinations of quintile income shares that can have the same value of income Gini index but only one of them is regarded as fair, this study demonstrates the use of fairness benchmarks as a practical guideline for designing policies with an aim to achieve fair income distribution in Thailand. Moreover, a comparative analysis is conducted by employing the method for estimating optimal (fair) income distribution representing feasible income equality in order to provide an alternative recommendation on what optimal (fair) income distribution characterizing feasible income equality in Thailand should be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green and low carbon reflect the high-quality development, while income distribution is an indicator of the balance of development. Is there a lack of fairness in the process of green and low carbon transition of enterprises? Using data from A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2016, this paper constructs a DID identification framework for controlling the endogeneity problem using the 2013 carbon trading policy pilot as a quasi-natural experiment to empirically test the impact of corporate low-carbon transformation on corporate labor income share in the context of carbon trading policy. The findings indicate that carbon trading policy decreases the labor income share of firms. In addition, we demonstrate that the low-carbon transition promotes labor productivity, suggesting that the Porter's hypothesis is confirmed in China, but the increase in labor wages is not in tandem with productivity growth, resulting in reduced labor income share. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of carbon trading policy on labor income share is mainly pronounced in larger firms, high technology firms and persistent incumbent firms. Collectively, these results are expected to accurately improve our understanding on the impact of low-carbon transformation of enterprises on income distribution and provide reference for the government to formulate industrial policies and distribution mechanisms under low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we introduce a new dataset to complement the existing evidence on economic inequalities in Poland's rural areas. This important dataset uses annual information on the beneficiaries of income support, which is paid to farmers within the European Common Agricultural Policy and covers the period 2014–2021. The data can be used to analyse the changing distribution of this support at municipality level using conventional inequality measures. Since part of the support is granted per eligible hectare, our data can also serve as a good approximation of land use distribution, and thus allow researchers to scrutinise the changes in the distribution of an important component of the wealth of many people living in rural areas. The paper presents selected findings on the distribution of income support granted to land users in the studied period and suggests potential research areas, for which the presented dataset can provide useful insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed how attitudes toward welfare vary or align in Korean society based on the distribution of income and assets. It aimed to identify coalition structures based on income and asset combinations surrounding the current welfare system. The analysis revealed that regardless of income level, groups that have not accumulated sufficient assets are more likely to have positive attitudes when it comes to advocating the expansion of public welfare spending. However, with regard to redistributive policies aimed at addressing social vulnerability, it is evident that there is currently no group capable of forming a coalition with the low-income, low-asset group. Therefore, it can be predicted that in the process of reforming the social security system, an approach of universal welfare policies, providing benefits to the majority of citizens, coupled with additional benefits proportional to the taxes paid, may receive high levels of support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest rate is viewed in this note as a monetary phenomenon, subject to a wide range of policy objectives and constraints, which contributes to determine activity levels principally through its effects on income distribution. The impact of interest-rate policy on inflation is also analysed, both in the light of the fact that the rate of interest constitutes a component of normal production costs and of the repercussions of its changes on employment. The note finally discusses the implications of the arguments put forward for the status of the central bank and capital control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to assess to what extent the Taylor rule can be considered an appropriate representation of the tendency of central banks to react to inflation. After an overview of the origin and use of the Taylor rule, the paper stresses some difficulties in its implementation and the limits of its interpretation by the New Consensus models. Specifically, the inherent difficulties stemming from the notion and estimates of a benchmark interest rate determined by 'productivity and thrift' are pointed out. We then move on to advance an alternative interpretation of the Taylor rule along Classical-Keynesian lines. In this context, inflation is fuelled by conflicting claims on income distribution and the rule will be interpreted, as it is in actual fact, as a flexible and non-mechanical benchmark for monetary policies which will be seen to affect the division of product between wages and profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the global financial crisis burst in 2008, central bankers have been at centre stage in addressing its negative consequences across the economic systems of many countries. This has been further noticed in the aftermath of the pandemic crisis that erupted at the beginning of 2020 at global level, when a number of governments did intervene also in a rather 'unconventional' way to support economic activity through public spending. In both circumstances, central bankers have been in a position to satisfy private interests of the relevant stakeholders even though this has been affecting both income and wealth distribution against the common good. This paper investigates the political benefits that these 'unconventional' policy interventions have elicited in advanced economies to point out the political and distributional consequences of them, suggesting an alternative monetary policy stance that considers climate-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors, especially those who share a Classical–Keynesian point of view, argue that the interest rate determines the rate of profit in the long run. Considering the eleven founding economies of the euro area, I find that, adjusted for the rate of growth of gross national income, there is a positive long-term relationship between the real interest rate and the net rate of profit. The results are confirmed even when I estimate a model with nominal interest rates, inflation, and a yield curve. These results imply that the European Central Bank (ECB), when deciding monetary policy, is not neutral in determining income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Pigouvian approach, utility (or satisfaction) is positively affected by income level. A higher income allows for more tangible goods and intangible services, thereby 'elevating' individuals' happiness. This article departs from the traditional Pigouvian approach and implements concepts found in ancient religious and historical sources. Accordingly, individuals' well-being or utility are affected not only by income but also by the gap between fulfilment and desire that is derived from individuals' income. By decreasing desires and educating individuals to be satisfied with fewer resources, they gain more satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the dissemination of salient information about tax dishonesty, such as high profile tax evasion or avoidance, facilitate the propagation of unethical behaviours, and in what way? We investigate this question in a large scale survey experiment on more than 4000 Italians. We find that how information about greater tax evasion affects dishonesty and perceived tax compliance norms depends on the income of the evaders: Evasion at the bottom of the income distribution weakens the norm among low-income earners, while evasion at the top increases dishonesty among high-income earners. We also uncover negative effects on social trust and on attitudes towards wealth and wealth accumulation, showcasing the detrimental effect of unethical tax practices on social and economic relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We formulate a rule for allocating asylum seekers that is based on the social preferences of the native workers of the receiving countries. To derive the rule, we construct for each country a social welfare function, SWF , where the social welfare of a population is determined both by the population's aggregate absolute income and by the population's aggregate relative income. In a utilitarian manner, we combine the social welfare functions of the countries into a global social welfare function, GSWF. We look for the allocation that yields the highest value of the GSWF. We draw on assumptions that pertain to the manner in which the asylum seekers join the income distribution of the native workers: we consider a case in which the arrival of the asylum seekers has only a minor effect on the absolute income of the native population, and in which following their admission and integration, the asylum seekers join the income distribution of the native population "from below," namely the incomes of the asylum seekers are lower than the incomes of the low-income native workers. The arrival of asylum seekers can, however, measurably affect the relative incomes of the native population. Our rule states that the share of asylum seekers to be optimally assigned to each country depends only on the aggregate of the income excesses experienced by the native populations in the receiving countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid 19 pandemic, which started to spread at the beginning of 2020, has led to a new paradigm that has been defined as the 'new normal' in the world with its ongoing effects until today. With this study, it is aimed to determine which of the existing forms of government achieves more success in solving the problems which have deepened with the effect of the pandemic and are getting more and more complex with each passing day as we experience as a result of global environmental problems, wars and the unfavorable international political economy. In this context, the 'new normal' has been defined by drawing the conceptual framework of politics and forms of government that have been implemented until today. Then, today's complex problems are analyzed in global security and economy, income distribution, social security, education, environment socio-cultural and other dimensions. In the following section, the selected government models were compared within the framework of the determined parameters, and the success of the problems in the solution was determined. In the conclusion, the contribution of government models to this success has been questioned, and some solution proposals have stated. It has been determined that the form of government alone is not sufficient in the success of solving today's complex problems, and other variables such as power ability, geopolitics, identity, religion and moral values are also effective. In addition, the importance of the power model in the country as well as the way of prioritizing the problems understood, while the importance of how international and domestic policies have been determined as the allocation of budget resources also has revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper proposes a deep generalisation for income inequality indices. A generalised income inequality index that depends on two parameters and that involves a large set of income inequality indices in the same framework is proposed. The two parameters control the sensitivity of the generalised index to different levels of the income distribution. A thorough investigation of the generalised index paves the way for understanding the influence of the low, middle and high incomes on various income inequality indices and thereby facilitates the choice of multiple indices simultaneously for a better analysis of inequality as advocated by several recent studies. Moreover, two methods for estimating the generalised index in the case of finite populations are shown. A new method for estimating the inequality indices is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to understand mobility within income distribution in cases where there is incomplete information about how individuals transit between income distribution brackets. Understanding these transitions is crucial for evaluating and designing economic policies that affect the population in the long run. For this reason, we propose a methodology that may assist decision-makers to improve policies related to poverty reduction. We start by assuming that the income distribution bracket a person holds exclusively depends on the previous generation's income bracket, i.e. it has the memoryless property. Therefore, our model resembles a Markov chain model with a steady state distribution that describes the distribution of the income brackets in the long run, and a transition matrix that describes the transitions between income distribution brackets from generation to generation. In contrast to a Markov chain, we assume a given steady state, in order to analyze the space of consistent transition matrices that could generate the steady state proposed. Additionally, we used the joint distribution simulation algorithm developed by Montiel and Bickel (Decis Anal 9:329–347, https://doi.org/10.1287/deca.1120.0252, 2012) to analyze the transition matrix, which allows us to understand the effects of partial information. We test the model with official data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography and the Social Mobility Survey in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel models with nested errors are widely used in poverty estimation. An important application in this context is estimating the distribution of poverty as defined by the distribution of income within a set of domains that cover the population of interest. Since unit-level values of income are usually heteroskedastic, the standard homoskedasticity assumptions implicit in popular multilevel models may not be appropriate and can lead to bias, particularly when used to estimate domain-specific income distributions. This article addresses this problem when the income values in the population of interest can be characterized by a two-level mixed linear model with independent and identically distributed domain effects and with independent but not identically distributed individual effects. Estimation of poverty indicators that are functionals of domain-level income distributions is also addressed, and a nonparametric bootstrap procedure is used to estimate mean squared errors and confidence intervals. The proposed methodology is compared with the well-known World Bank poverty mapping methodology for this situation, using model-based simulation experiments as well as an empirical study based on Bangladesh poverty data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redistribution for income equality is a contentious issue, with advocates citing increased economic stability and skeptics fearing potential negative impacts on economic growth. The United States (U.S.) faces notably high income inequality compared to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, with wealth concentrated in the top brackets. This paper critically examines the existing U.S. redistribution methods, including the taxation system and welfare programs, highlighting challenges such as the lack of tax progressiveness in top brackets and limited redistribution compared to European counterparts. Based on this overview, the study evaluates alternative redistribution strategies, including wealth and business taxes. The paper compares theory with insights from pilot programs in other countries. Finally, the paper argues for a universal basic income (UBI) set at per-capita welfare spending, positing that this approach can empower individuals to escape poverty traps, enhance productivity, and introduce a choice mechanism for welfare consumption. Ultimately, this research seeks to propose the most effective and feasible income redistribution policies for the U.S. to bridge the income inequality gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]