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Human Capital and Inequality Dynamics: The Role of Education Technology

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  • JEAN‐MARIE VIAENE
  • ITZHAK ZILCHA

Abstract

The paper offers a unified way to examine several puzzles on inequality dynamics. It focuses on differences in the education technology and their effects on income distributions. Our overlapping generations economy has the following features: (1) consumers are heterogenous with respect to ability and parental human capital; and (2) intergenerational transfers take place via parental direct investment in education and, public education financed by taxes (possibly, with a level determined by majority voting). We explore several variations in the production of human capital, some attributed to ‘home‐education’ and others related to ‘public‐education’, and indicate how various changes in education technologies affect the intragenerational income inequality along the equilibrium path.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean‐Marie Viaene & Itzhak Zilcha, 2009. "Human Capital and Inequality Dynamics: The Role of Education Technology," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(304), pages 760-778, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:econom:v:76:y:2009:i:304:p:760-778
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2008.00718.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Ziesemer, Thomas, 2011. "What Changes Gini Coefficients of Education? On the dynamic interaction between education, its distribution and growth," MERIT Working Papers 2011-053, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    2. Limor Hatsor, 2014. "Allocation of Resources in Educational Production: The Budget Puzzle," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(6), pages 854-883, December.
    3. Hatsor, Limor, 2012. "Occupational choice: Teacher quality versus teacher quantity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 608-623.
    4. Leonid V Azarnert, 2023. "Population sorting and human capital accumulation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(3), pages 780-801.
    5. Mausumi Das & Subrata Guha, 2012. "What Do Teachers Do? Teacher Quality Vis-a-vis Teacher Quantity in a Model of Public Education and Growth," Working papers 216, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    6. Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2013. "The relationship between economic growth and inequality," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 113-139, August.
    7. Franz Gehrels, 2013. "United States and German Real Capital Formation and Social Investment in the Sciences and Humanities," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 41(3), pages 225-229, September.
    8. Sintos, Andreas, 2023. "Does inflation worsen income inequality? A meta-analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    9. Franz Gehrels, 2010. "On Optimal Social Investment in the Sciences and Humanities," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 38(3), pages 325-330, September.

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