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The Evolution of Income and Fertility Inequalities over the Course of Economic Development: A Human Capital Perspective

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Author Info
Isaac Ehrlich
Jinyoung Kim

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Abstract

Using an endogenous‐growth, overlapping‐generations framework in which human capital is the engine of growth, we trace the dynamic evolution of income and fertility distributions and their interdependencies over three endogenous phases of economic development. In our model, heterogeneous families determine fertility and children’s human capital, and generations are linked via parental altruism and social interactions. We derive and test discriminating propositions concerning the dynamic behavior of inequalities in fertility, educational attainments, and three endogenous income inequality measures—family‐income inequality, income‐group inequality, and the Gini coefficient. In this context, we also reexamine the “Kuznets hypothesis” concerning the relation between income growth and inequality.

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File URL: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/resolve?id=doi:10.1086/523878
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Publisher Info
Article provided by University of Chicago Press in its journal Journal of Human Capital.

Volume (Year): 1 (2007)
Issue (Month): 1 ()
Pages: 137-174
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Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:v:1:i:1:y:2007:p:137-174

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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Christian Morrisson & Fabrice Murtin, 2009. "The Century of Education," CEP Discussion Papers dp0934, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  2. Isaac Ehrlich, 2007. "The Mystery of Human Capital as Engine of Growth, or Why the US Became the Economic Superpower in the 20th Century," NBER Working Papers 12868, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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