IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v12y2024i10p274-d1494236.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Tale of Two Economies: Diachronic Comparative Analysis of Diverging Paths of Growth and Inequality in the United States and the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Panagiotis Karountzos

    (Department of Regional and Economic Development, School of Applied Economics and Social Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, 118 55 Athens, Greece)

  • Nikolaos T. Giannakopoulos

    (BICTEVAC Laboratory—Business Information and Communication Technologies in Value Chains Laboratory, Department of Agribusiness and Supply Chain Management, School of Applied Economics and Social Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, 118 55 Athens, Greece)

  • Damianos P. Sakas

    (BICTEVAC Laboratory—Business Information and Communication Technologies in Value Chains Laboratory, Department of Agribusiness and Supply Chain Management, School of Applied Economics and Social Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, 118 55 Athens, Greece)

  • Stavros P. Migkos

    (Department of Accounting & Finance, School of Economic Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 501 00 Kozani, Greece)

Abstract

This study investigates the correlation between the Gini index and gross domestic product (GDP) in two of the world’s largest capitalist economies: the United States and the United Kingdom. Utilizing econometric methods, including stationarity tests and linear regression, this research work aims to elucidate the relationship between economic inequality and economic growth. The results for the United States reveal a significant positive correlation between GDP and the Gini index, suggesting that economic growth is associated with rising income inequality. In contrast, the United Kingdom shows a much weaker relationship, indicating that other factors, such as redistributive policies and social welfare programs, may mitigate the impact of economic growth on income inequality. These findings highlight the importance of national policies and institutional frameworks in shaping economic outcomes and can be used in policy making. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing a comparative analysis of the correlation between GDP and the Gini index in two major capitalist economies, offering fresh empirical insights.

Suggested Citation

  • Panagiotis Karountzos & Nikolaos T. Giannakopoulos & Damianos P. Sakas & Stavros P. Migkos, 2024. "A Tale of Two Economies: Diachronic Comparative Analysis of Diverging Paths of Growth and Inequality in the United States and the United Kingdom," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-25, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:10:p:274-:d:1494236
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/10/274/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/10/274/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feldstein, Martin & Liebman, Jeffrey B. (ed.), 2002. "The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226241067.
    2. Martin Feldstein & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2002. "The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number feld02-1.
    3. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2002. "Growth Is Good for the Poor," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 195-225, September.
    4. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2003. "Income Inequality in the United States, 1913–1998," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 1-41.
    5. Martin S. Feldstein & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2002. "Introduction to "The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform"," NBER Chapters, in: The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform, pages 1-10, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2002. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1231-1294.
    7. McGovern, Patrick & Obradović, Sandra & Bauer, Martin W., 2023. "In search of a Tawney Moment: income inequality, financial crisis and the mass media in the UK and the USA," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 123556, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2014. "Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data," NBER Working Papers 20625, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2019. "Progressive Wealth Taxation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 50(2 (Fall)), pages 437-533.
    3. Erin Cottle Hunt & Frank N. Caliendo, 2022. "Social security and risk sharing: A survey of four decades of economic analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1591-1609, December.
    4. Wojciech Kopczuk, 2015. "What Do We Know about the Evolution of Top Wealth Shares in the United States?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 47-66, Winter.
    5. Alan J. Auerbach & Kerwin K. Charles & Courtney C. Coile & William Gale & Dana Goldman & Ronald Lee & Charles M. Lucas & Peter R. Orszag & Louise M. Sheiner & Bryan Tysinger & David N. Weil & Justin W, 2017. "How the Growing Gap in Life Expectancy May Affect Retirement Benefits and Reforms," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 42(3), pages 475-499, July.
    6. Flavia Coda Moscarola & Margherita Borella, 2015. "The 2011 Pension Reform in Italy and its Effects on Current and Future Retirees," CeRP Working Papers 151, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    7. Inyong Shin, 2018. "Could pension system make us happier?," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1452342-145, January.
    8. Sierminska, Eva & Wroński, Marcin, 2022. "Inequality and Public Pension Entitlements," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1212, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Andras Simonovits, 2020. "Indexing public pensions in progress to wages or prices," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 2015, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    10. Stanislav Klazar & Barbora Slintáková, 2012. "How Progressive is the Czech Pension Security?," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(3), pages 309-327.
    11. Christopher D. Carroll & Edmund Crawley & Jiri Slacalek & Matthew N. White, 2021. "Modeling the Consumption Response to the CARES Act," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 17(1), pages 107-141, March.
    12. Stimpfle, Alexander & Stadelmann, David, 2015. "The Impact of Fundamental Development Factors on Different Income Groups: International Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113128, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    13. Rojhat B. Avsar, 2012. "On the Pro-Social Security Rhetoric," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2-3), pages 187-205, July.
    14. Oliver Denk & Robert P. Hagemann & Patrick Lenain & Valentin Somma, 2013. "Inequality and Poverty in the United States: Public Policies for Inclusive Growth," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1052, OECD Publishing.
    15. Lixin He & Hiroshi Sato, 2013. "Income Redistribution In Urban China By Social Security System—An Empirical Analysis Based On Annual And Lifetime Income," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(2), pages 314-331, April.
    16. Wenguang Yu & Bing Li & Xianghan Zhu, 2021. "Income Redistribution Effect of Raising the Overall Planning Level of Basic Endowment Insurance for Urban Employees in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-29, January.
    17. Holger Lüthen, 2016. "Rates of Return and Early Retirement Disincentives: Evidence from a German Pension Reform," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 17(2), pages 206-233, May.
    18. Kindermann, Fabian & Pueschel, Veronika, 2021. "Progressive Pensions as an Incentive for Labor Force Participation," CEPR Discussion Papers 16380, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Rachel J. Huang & Larry Y. Tzeng, 2008. "Consumption Externality and Equilibrium Underinsurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 75(4), pages 1039-1054, December.
    20. Takashi Oshio, 2005. "Social Security And The Intragenerational Redistribution Of Lifetime Income In Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 56(1), pages 85-106, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:10:p:274-:d:1494236. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.