IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ecopln/v56y2023i2d10.1007_s10644-022-09450-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Government effectiveness and inequality in Italian regions

Author

Listed:
  • Cristian Barra

    (University of Salerno)

  • Anna Papaccio

    (University of Salerno)

  • Nazzareno Ruggiero

    (University of Salerno)

Abstract

Using regional data for Italy over the 2004–2019 period, this paper investigates the relationship between government effectiveness and inequality. For our empirical purposes, ordinary least squares, instrumental variable (IV) and generalized methods of moments regressions have been employed. Our evidence indicates that improved government effectiveness has some role in reducing inequality in the most developed regions of the North, but has no effect in both the Centre and in the peripheral Southern regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristian Barra & Anna Papaccio & Nazzareno Ruggiero, 2023. "Government effectiveness and inequality in Italian regions," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 781-801, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:56:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10644-022-09450-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-022-09450-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10644-022-09450-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10644-022-09450-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guriev, Sergei, 2004. "Red tape and corruption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 489-504, April.
    2. Joshua D. Angrist & Alan B. Krueger, 2001. "Instrumental Variables and the Search for Identification: From Supply and Demand to Natural Experiments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 69-85, Fall.
    3. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Vassilis Tselios, 2009. "Education And Income Inequality In The Regions Of The European Union," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 411-437, August.
    4. Mocetti, Sauro & Porello, Carmine, 2010. "How does immigration affect native internal mobility? New evidence from Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 427-439, November.
    5. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    6. Andrea Lasagni & Annamaria Nifo & Gaetano Vecchione, 2015. "Firm Productivity And Institutional Quality: Evidence From Italian Industry," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 774-800, November.
    7. Dobson, Stephen & Ramlogan-Dobson, Carlyn, 2012. "Why is Corruption Less Harmful to Income Inequality in Latin America?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1534-1545.
    8. Dilip Mookherjee & Pranab Bardhan, 2005. "Decentralization, Corruption And Government Accountability: An Overview," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2005-023, Boston University - Department of Economics, revised Jun 2005.
    9. Cristina Cattaneo, 2014. "Which Factors Explain the Rising Ethnic Heterogeneity in Italy? An Empirical Analysis at Province Level," Working Papers 2014.34, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    10. Pranab Bardhan, 1997. "Corruption and Development: A Review of Issues," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1320-1346, September.
    11. Antonio Andres & Carlyn Ramlogan-Dobson, 2011. "Is Corruption Really Bad for Inequality? Evidence from Latin America," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(7), pages 959-976.
    12. Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong, 2002. "Corruption, economic growth, and income inequality in Africa," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 183-209, November.
    13. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    14. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2003. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2028, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    15. Sanjeev Gupta & Hamid Davoodi & Rosa Alonso-Terme, 2002. "Does corruption affect income inequality and poverty?," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 23-45, March.
    16. Bertrand Blancheton & Dina Chhorn, 2021. "Government Intervention, Institutional Quality, and Income Inequality: Evidence from Asia and the Pacific, 1988–2014," Post-Print hal-03770836, HAL.
    17. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2010. "The worldwide governance indicators : methodology and analytical issues," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5430, The World Bank.
    18. Perotti, Roberto, 1996. "Growth, Income Distribution, and Democracy: What the Data Say," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 149-187, June.
    19. Hongyi Li & Lixin Colin Xu & Heng‐fu Zou, 2000. "Corruption, Income Distribution, and Growth," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(2), pages 155-182, July.
    20. Gradstein, Mark & Chong, Alberto E., 2004. "Inequality, Institutions, and Informality," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 1918, Inter-American Development Bank.
    21. Gradstein, Mark & Milanovic, Branko & Ying, Yvonne, 2001. "Democracy and income inequality : an empirical analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2561, The World Bank.
    22. Giulia Bettin & Patrizio Bianchi & Francesco Nicolli & Laura Ramaciotti & Ugo Rizzo, 2019. "Migration, ethnic concentration and firm entry: evidence from Italian regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 55-66, January.
    23. Joshua Angrist & Alan Krueger, 2001. "Instrumental Variables and the Search for Identification: From Supply and Demand to Natural Experiments," Working Papers 834, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    24. Ali Sarkhosh-Sara & Khadije Nasrollahi & Karim Azarbayjani & Rasul Bakhshi Dastjerdi, 2020. "Comparative analysis of the effects of institutional factors and Piketty’s Hypothesis on inequality: evidence from a panel of countries," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-28, December.
    25. Kapoor Mudit & Ravi Shamika, 2012. "Determinants of Corruption: Government Effectiveness vs. Cultural Norms," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, August.
    26. Alberto Alesina & Reza Baqir & William Easterly, 1999. "Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(4), pages 1243-1284.
    27. Li, Hongyi & Squire, Lyn & Zou, Heng-fu, 1998. "Explaining International and Intertemporal Variations in Income Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(446), pages 26-43, January.
    28. Emanuele Ciani & Roberto Torrini, 2019. "The Geography of Italian Income Inequality: Recent Trends and the Role of Employment," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 173-208.
    29. Bertrand Blancheton & Dina Chhorn, 2021. "Government Intervention, Institutional Quality, and Income Inequality: Evidence from Asia and the Pacific, 1988–2014," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 38(1), pages 176-206, March.
    30. Annamaria Nifo & Gaetano Vecchione, 2014. "Do Institutions Play a Role in Skilled Migration? The Case of Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(10), pages 1628-1649, October.
    31. Antonella Rita Ferrara & Rosanna Nisticò, 2019. "Does Institutional Quality Matter for Multidimensional Well-Being Inequalities? Insights from Italy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 1063-1105, October.
    32. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    33. Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong & Samaria de Gyimah-Brempong, 2006. "Corruption, Growth, and Income Distribution: Are there Regional Differences?," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 245-269, August.
    34. Guriev, Sergei, 2004. "Red tape and corruption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 489-504, April.
    35. Antonella Ferrara & Rosanna Nisticò, 2015. "Regional well-being indicators and dispersion from a multidimensional perspective: evidence from Italy," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(2), pages 373-420, December.
    36. repec:fth:prinin:455 is not listed on IDEAS
    37. Zhuang, Juzhong & de Dios, Emmanuel & Lagman-Martin, Anneli, 2010. "Governance and Institutional Quality and the Links with Economic Growth and Income Inequality: With Special Reference to Developing Asia," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 193, Asian Development Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cristian Barra & Pasquale Marcello Falcone, 2024. "Does institutional quality matter for bioeconomy performance? Insights from Italian regions," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 1-31, December.
    2. Focacci, Chiara Natalie & Kovac, Mitja & Spruk, Rok, 2023. "Ethnolinguistic diversity, quality of local public institutions, and firm-level innovation," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    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. Sher Khan, 2022. "Investigating the Effect of Income Inequality on Corruption: New Evidence from 23 Emerging Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 2100-2126, September.
    2. Perera, Liyanage Devangi H. & Lee, Grace H.Y., 2013. "Have economic growth and institutional quality contributed to poverty and inequality reduction in Asia?," MPRA Paper 52763, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Antonio Andres & Carlyn Ramlogan-Dobson, 2011. "Is Corruption Really Bad for Inequality? Evidence from Latin America," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(7), pages 959-976.
    4. Mohamed Dridi, 2014. "Corruption and Education: Empirical Evidence," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 4(3), pages 476-493.
    5. Bienvenido Ortega & Antonio Casquero & Jesús Sanjuán, 2016. "Corruption and Convergence in Human Development: Evidence from 69 Countries During 1990–2012," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 691-719, June.
    6. Simplice A Asongu, 2015. "A Good Turn Deserves Another: Political Stability, Corruption and Corruption-Control," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2037-2048.
    7. Sulemana, Iddisah & Kpienbaareh, Daniel, 2018. "An empirical examination of the relationship between income inequality and corruption in Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 27-42.
    8. Ichraf Ouechtati, 2023. "Financial Inclusion, Institutional Quality, and Inequality: an Empirical Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 620-644, June.
    9. Keneck-Massil, Joseph & Nomo-Beyala, Clery & Owoundi, Ferdinand, 2021. "The corruption and income inequality puzzle: Does political power distribution matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Kouadio, Hugues Kouassi & Gakpa, Lewis-Landry, 2022. "Do economic growth and institutional quality reduce poverty and inequality in West Africa?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 41-63.
    11. Muinelo-Gallo, Leonel, 2022. "Business cycles and redistribution: The role of government quality," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    12. Oguzhan C. Dincer & Burak Gunalp, 2012. "Corruption And Income Inequality In The United States," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 30(2), pages 283-292, April.
    13. Ben Hamouda, Abderrazek, 2018. "La qualité de gouvernance et le triangle croissance-inégalité-pauvreté [The relationship between growth-inequality-poverty triangle and governance]," MPRA Paper 92207, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Islam, Md. Rabiul & McGillivray, Mark, 2020. "Wealth inequality, governance and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-13.
    15. Mehmet Ugur, 2014. "Corruption'S Direct Effects On Per-Capita Income Growth: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 472-490, July.
    16. Abdullah Almounsor & Sami Mensi, 2024. "The Relationship Between Financial Development, Institutions Quality, and Income Inequality from the Sub-Saharan Africa Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 14307-14338, September.
    17. Imam, M. & Jamasb, T. & Llorca, M. & Llorca, M., 2018. "Power Sector Reform and Corruption: Evidence from Electricity Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1801, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    18. Keith Blackburn & Rashmi Sarmah, 2006. "Red Tape, Corruption and Finance," Economics Discussion Paper Series 0639, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    19. Arminen, Heli & Menegaki, Angeliki N., 2019. "Corruption, climate and the energy-environment-growth nexus," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 621-634.
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/o45fqtltm960r11iq437ski90 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Ahlin, Christian & Pang, Jiaren, 2008. "Are financial development and corruption control substitutes in promoting growth?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 414-433, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Government effectiveness; Inequality; Regional analysis; North–South divide; Empirical design;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:ecopln:v:56:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10644-022-09450-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.