IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp13179.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Inequality and Panel Income Changes: Conditions for Possibilities and Impossibilities

Author

Listed:
  • Duval Hernández, Robert

    (Open University of Cyprus)

  • Fields, Gary S.

    (Cornell University)

  • Jakubson, George H.

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

The question of who benefits from economic growth is usually assessed by using cross section data to calculate changes in income inequality. An alternative is to assess patterns of panel income changes. We derive theoretical conditions reconciling changes in inequality together with various measures of convergent/divergent panel income changes. For a large number of inequality indices, as well as for Lorenz curves: we show that rising inequality can coexist with convergent panel changes provided the latter are "large" (and in the right direction), where the meaning of "large" varies depending on the particular regression under analysis; we show that it is impossible to have both falling inequality together with divergent panel income changes in shares or in proportions; and we establish a condition linking convergence/divergence in dollars to changes in the coefficient of variation.

Suggested Citation

  • Duval Hernández, Robert & Fields, Gary S. & Jakubson, George H., 2020. "Inequality and Panel Income Changes: Conditions for Possibilities and Impossibilities," IZA Discussion Papers 13179, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13179
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp13179.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Flaviana Palmisano & Vito Peragine, 2015. "The Distributional Incidence of Growth: A Social Welfare Approach," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(3), pages 440-464, September.
    2. Sala-i-Martin, Xavier X, 1996. "The Classical Approach to Convergence Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1019-1036, July.
    3. Flaviana Palmisano & Dirk Van de gaer, 2016. "History-dependent growth incidence: a characterization and an application to the economic crisis in Italy," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(2), pages 585-603.
    4. François Bourguignon, 2011. "Non-anonymous growth incidence curves, income mobility and social welfare dominance," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(4), pages 605-627, December.
    5. Shatakshee Dhongde & Jacques Silber, 2016. "On distributional change, pro-poor growth and convergence," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(3), pages 249-267, September.
    6. Simon Quinn & Francis Teal, 2008. "Private sector development and income dynamics: A panel study of the Tanzanian labour market," CSAE Working Paper Series 2008-09, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    7. A. Atkinson, 2008. "More on the measurement of inequality," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 6(3), pages 277-283, September.
    8. Anthony F. Shorrocks & James E. Foster, 1987. "Transfer Sensitive Inequality Measures," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 54(3), pages 485-497.
    9. Elena Bárcena-Martin & Elena Jacques Silber & Yuan Zhang, 2019. "On the measurement of population weighted relative indices of mobility and convergence, with an illustration based on Chinese data," Working Papers 505, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    10. Sen, Amartya, 1997. "On Economic Inequality," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198292975.
    11. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2003. "Measuring pro-poor growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 93-99, January.
    12. Nissanov, Zoya & Silber, Jacques, 2009. "On pro-poor growth and the measurement of convergence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 270-272, December.
    13. Wodon, Quentin & Yitzhaki, Shlomo, 2006. "Convergence forward and backward?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 47-51, July.
    14. Gary Fields & Paul Cichello & Samuel Freije & Marta Menendez & David Newhouse, 2003. "Household income dynamics: a four-country story," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 30-54.
    15. Donal O'Neill & Philippe Van Kerm, 2008. "An Integrated Framework For Analysing Income Convergence," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 76(1), pages 1-20, January.
    16. Peter Gottschalk & Minh Huynh, 2010. "Are Earnings Inequality and Mobility Overstated? The Impact of Nonclassical Measurement Error," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(2), pages 302-315, May.
    17. Paul L. Cichello & Gary S. Fields & Murray Leibbrandt, 2005. "Earnings and Employment Dynamics for Africans in Post-apartheid South Africa: A Panel Study of KwaZulu-Natal1," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 14(2), pages 143-190, June.
    18. Gary Fields & Paul Cichello & Samuel Freije & Marta Menéndez & David Newhouse, 2003. "For Richer or for Poorer? Evidence from Indonesia, South Africa, Spain, and Venezuela," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 1(1), pages 67-99, April.
    19. Michael Grimm, 2007. "Removing the anonymity axiom in assessing pro-poor growth," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 5(2), pages 179-197, August.
    20. Gary Fields, 2010. "Does income mobility equalize longer-term incomes? New measures of an old concept," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(4), pages 409-427, December.
    21. Niny Khor & John Pencavel, 2006. "Income mobility of individuals in China and the United States," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 14(3), pages 417-458, July.
    22. Van Kerm, Philippe, 2009. "Income mobility profiles," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 102(2), pages 93-95, February.
    23. James E. Foster & Efe A. Ok, 1999. "Lorenz Dominance and the Variance of Logarithms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(4), pages 901-908, July.
    24. Bliss, Christopher, 1999. "Galton's Fallacy and Economic Convergence," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 4-14, January.
    25. Robert Duval‐Hernández & Gary S. Fields & George H. Jakubson, 2017. "Cross‐Sectional Versus Panel Income Approaches: Analyzing Income Distribution Changes for the Case of Mexico," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(4), pages 685-705, December.
    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. Robert Duval‐Hernández & Gary S. Fields & George H. Jakubson, 2023. "Inequality And Panel Income Changes: Conditions For Possibilities And Impossibilities," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(1), pages 295-324, February.
    2. Flaviana Palmisano, 2018. "Evaluating Patterns of Income Growth when Status Matters: A Robust Approach," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(1), pages 147-169, March.
    3. Markus Jäntti & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2013. "Income Mobility," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 607, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    4. Elena Bárcena‐Martin & Jacques Silber & Yuan Zhang, 2024. "Measures of Relative and Absolute Convergence and Pro‐poor Growth with an Illustration based on China (2010–2018)," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 32(2), pages 1-41, March.
    5. Stephen P. Jenkins & Philippe Van Kerm, 2016. "Assessing Individual Income Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 679-703, October.
    6. Maria C. Lo Bue & Flaviana Palmisano, 2020. "The Individual Poverty Incidence of Growth," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(6), pages 1295-1321, December.
    7. Florent Bresson & Jean-Yves Duclos & Flaviana Palmisano, 2019. "Intertemporal pro-poorness," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 52(1), pages 65-96, January.
    8. Stephan Klasen & Maria C. Lo Bue & Vincenzo Prete, 2020. "What's behind pro-poor growth?: The role of shocks and measurement error," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-16, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Flaviana Palmisano & Vito Peragine, 2015. "The Distributional Incidence of Growth: A Social Welfare Approach," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(3), pages 440-464, September.
    10. Elena Bárcena-Martin & Elena Jacques Silber & Yuan Zhang, 2019. "On the measurement of population weighted relative indices of mobility and convergence, with an illustration based on Chinese data," Working Papers 505, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    11. Shatakshee Dhongde & Jacques Silber, 2016. "On distributional change, pro-poor growth and convergence," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(3), pages 249-267, September.
    12. François Bourguignon, 2011. "Non-anonymous growth incidence curves, income mobility and social welfare dominance," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(4), pages 605-627, December.
    13. Dirk Van de gaer & Flaviana Palmisano, 2018. "Growth, Mobility and Social Welfare," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 988, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    14. Elena Bárcena & Olga Cantó, 2018. "A simple subgroup decomposable measure of downward (and upward) income mobility," Working Papers 472, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    15. Michael Savage, 2016. "Poorest Made Poorer? Decomposing income losses at the bottom of the income distribution during the Great Recession," Papers WP528, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    16. Vito Peragine & Flaviana Palmisano & Paolo Brunori, 2014. "Economic Growth and Equality of Opportunity," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(2), pages 247-281.
    17. Creedy, John & Gemmell, Norman, 2017. "Illustrating Income Mobility: Two New Measures," Working Paper Series 6693, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    18. Thomas Demuynck & Dirk Van de gaer, 2012. "Inequality Adjusted Income Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 79(316), pages 747-765, October.
    19. Fourrier-Nicolaï Edwin & Lubrano Michel, 2024. "Bayesian inference for non-anonymous growth incidence curves using Bernstein polynomials: an application to academic wage dynamics," Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, De Gruyter, vol. 28(2), pages 319-336, April.
    20. Flaviana Palmisano & Dirk Van de gaer, 2016. "History-dependent growth incidence: a characterization and an application to the economic crisis in Italy," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(2), pages 585-603.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    income inequality; economic mobility; panel income changes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp13179. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.