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Spatial Income Inequality in India, 1993–2011: A Decomposition Analysis

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  • Mehtabul Azam

    (Oklahoma State University)

  • Vipul Bhatt

    (James Madison University)

Abstract

Using income from nationally representative household surveys and district as the lowest level of aggregation, we examine the role of spatial factors in determining income inequality in India. In both rural and urban India, we find that within-district income differences account for majority of the income inequality in 2011. Moreover, between-state income differences are more important in explaining between-district inequality in rural India. In contrast, in urban areas it is the within-state income differences that play a more important role in explaining the between-district inequality. We find significantly smaller level of inequality but similar trends using the consumption expenditure. Finally, using data for 1993 and 2011, we find that although majority of the income inequality in rural India is explained by within-district income difference in both years, over time the share of between-district differences has increased and they account for a third of the total increase in rural income inequality between 1993 and 2011.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehtabul Azam & Vipul Bhatt, 2018. "Spatial Income Inequality in India, 1993–2011: A Decomposition Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(2), pages 505-522, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:138:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1683-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1683-4
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jinda Wen & Haonan Chen, 2025. "Green Innovation and the Urban–Rural Income Gap: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, February.
    3. Fathim Rashna Kallingal & Mohammed Firoz C, 2022. "Developing a methodological framework for capturing regional disparities in social development," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 1085-1112, October.
    4. Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay & David Garcés Urzainqui, 2018. "The dynamics of spatial and local inequalities in India," WIDER Working Paper Series 182, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income inequality; Consumption inequality; District-level decomposition; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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