IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/mtk/febawb/40.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Factors Of Income Inequality And Their Influence Mechanisms: A Theoretical Overview

Author

Listed:
  • Anneli Kaasa

Abstract

When analysing the factors of income inequality, first as many factors as possible have to be included in order to obtain valid results. The present article systematises the factors of income inequality discussed in the pertinent literature into five groups and summarises the hypotheses about the signs of the influences of the discussed factors on income inequality. But additionally the influences between the factors themselves that form indirect effects on income inequality have to be included. In this article, these influences are discussed and arranged in a system to give an idea about the possible indirect effects on income inequality of all the factors discussed in the article.

Suggested Citation

  • Anneli Kaasa, 2005. "Factors Of Income Inequality And Their Influence Mechanisms: A Theoretical Overview," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 40, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    • Handle: RePEc:mtk:febawb:40
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mjtoimetised.ut.ee/febpdf/febawb40.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthew Higgins & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 1999. "Explaining inequality the world round: cohort size, Kuznets curves, and openness," Staff Reports 79, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    2. Stijns, Jean-Philippe, 2006. "Natural resource abundance and human capital accumulation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1060-1083, June.
    3. Gradstein, Mark & Milanovic, Branko & Ying, Yvonne, 2001. "Democracy and income inequality : an empirical analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2561, The World Bank.
    4. Dennis J. Snower, 1998. "Causes of changing earnings inequality," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 69-133.
    5. repec:bla:econom:v:46:y:1979:i:181:p:83-87 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Ray Barrell & Nigel Pain, 1997. "The Growth of Foreign Direct Investment in Europe," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 160(1), pages 63-75, April.
    7. Blomström, Magnus & Kokko, Ari, 2003. "Human Capital and Inward FDI," EIJS Working Paper Series 167, Stockholm School of Economics, The European Institute of Japanese Studies.
    8. John Creedy & Justin Van De Ven, 1997. "The Distributional Effects of Inflation in Australia 1980–1995," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 30(2), pages 125-143, June.
    9. Eriksson, Clas, 1997. "Is There a Trade-Off between Employment and Growth?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(1), pages 77-88, January.
    10. Frances Stewart & Albert Berry, 2000. "Globalization, Liberalization, and Inequality: Real Causes," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 44-92, January.
    11. Edwards, Sebastian, 1997. "Trade Policy, Growth, and Income Distribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 205-210, May.
    12. Rebecca M. Blank & David Card, 1993. "Poverty, Income Distribution, and Growth: Are They Still Connected," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 24(2), pages 285-340.
    13. Sylwester, Kevin, 2002. "Can education expenditures reduce income inequality?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 43-52, February.
    14. J. David Richardson, 1995. "Income Inequality and Trade: How to Think, What to Conclude," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 33-55, Summer.
    15. George Clarke & Lixin Colin Xu & Heng-fu Zou, 2003. "Finance and Income Inequality: Test of Alternative Theories," CEMA Working Papers 493, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics.
    16. Simon C. Parker, 1999. "Income Inequality and the Business Cycle: A Survey of the Evidence and Some New Results," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, M.E. Sharpe, Inc., vol. 21(2), pages 201-225, January.
    17. Sharpe, Andrew & Zyblock, Myles, 1997. "Macroeconomic performance and income distribution in Canada," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 167-199.
    18. Jonathan Temple, 2003. "Growth effects of education and social capital in the OECD countries," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2001(2), pages 57-101.
    19. Gylfason, Thorvaldur, 2001. "Natural resources, education, and economic development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 847-859, May.
    20. Lindbeck, Assar, 1983. "Budget Expansion and Cost Inflation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 285-290, May.
    21. Mattias Lundberg & Lyn Squire, 2003. "The simultaneous evolution of growth and inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(487), pages 326-344, April.
    22. Singh, Balvir & Sahni, Balbir S, 1984. "Causality between Public Expenditure and National Income," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 66(4), pages 630-644, November.
    23. 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.
    24. Dani Rodrik, 1998. "Why Do More Open Economies Have Bigger Governments?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 997-1032, October.
    25. Schultz, T Paul, 1994. "Human Capital, Family Planning, and Their Effects on Population Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 255-260, May.
    26. Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1998. "Growth, Distribution, and Demography: Some Lessons from History," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 241-271, July.
    27. Max Gillman & Mark Harris & László Mátyás, 2002. "Inflation and Growth: Some Theory and Evidence," 10th International Conference on Panel Data, Berlin, July 5-6, 2002 D5-1, International Conferences on Panel Data.
    28. 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.
    29. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    30. Barry R. Chiswick, 1971. "Earnings Inequality and Economic Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 85(1), pages 21-39.
    31. Bresnahan, Timothy F, 1999. "Computerisation and Wage Dispersion: An Analytical Reinterpretation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 390-415, June.
    32. Snower, Dennis J., 1999. "Inequality of Earnings," CEPR Discussion Papers 2321, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    33. J Benson Durham, 1999. "Econometrics of Income Distribution: Toward More Comprehensive Specification of Institutional Correlates," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 41(1), pages 43-74, April.
    34. Cameron, David R., 1978. "The Expansion of the Public Economy: A Comparative Analysis," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(4), pages 1243-1261, December.
    35. Litwin, Carol, 1998. "Trade and Income Distribution in Developing Countries," Working Papers in Economics 9, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    36. Chang, Jih Y & Ram, Rati, 2000. "Level of Development, Rate of Economic Growth, and Income Inequality," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(4), pages 787-799, July.
    37. Mats Johansson & Bjorn Gustafsson, 1997. "In Search for a Smoking Gun: What Makes Income Inequality Vary Over Time in Different Countries?," LIS Working papers 172, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    38. Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Sampsa Kiiski, 2001. "Trends in Income Distribution in the Post-World War II Period: Evidence and Interpretation," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2001-89, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    39. Tolley, George S & Olson, E, 1971. "The Interdependence between Income and Education," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 460-480, May-June.
    40. Blejer, Mario I & Guerrero, Isabel, 1990. "The Impact of Macroeconomic Policies on Income Distribution: An Empirical Study of the Philippines," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(3), pages 414-423, August.
    41. David S. Johnson & Stephanie Shipp, 1999. "note: Inequality and the business cycle: A consumption viewpoint," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 173-180.
    42. J. Barkley Rosser Jr & Marina Vcherashnaya Rosser, 2001. "Another Failure of the Washington Consensus on Transition Countries:," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 39-50.
    43. Ram, Rati, 1986. "Government Size and Economic Growth: A New Framework and Some Evidencefrom Cross-Section and Time-Series Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(1), pages 191-203, March.
    44. repec:bla:econom:v:60:y:1993:i:238:p:161-81 is not listed on IDEAS
    45. Michael Bruno & William Easterly, 1996. "Inflation and growth: in search of a stable relationship," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 78(May), pages 139-146.
    46. Sophia Dimelis & Alexandra Livada, 1999. "Inequality and business cycles in the U.S. and European Union countries," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 5(3), pages 321-338, August.
    47. Ram, Rati, 1990. "Educational Expansion and Schooling Inequality: International Evidence and Some Implications," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 266-274, May.
    48. Bryan W Husted, 1999. "Wealth, Culture, and Corruption," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(2), pages 339-359, June.
    49. Jamie S. Partridge & Mark D. Partridge & Dan S. Rickman, 1998. "State Patterns In Family Income Inequality," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 16(3), pages 277-294, July.
    50. William R. Johnson, 1987. "Income Redistribution as Human Capital Insurance," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(2), pages 269-280.
    51. Barrell, Ray & Pain, Nigel, 1997. "Foreign Direct Investment, Technological Change, and Economic Growth within Europe," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(445), pages 1770-1786, November.
    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. Prashant Kumar Choudhary & Priyanka Saharia, 2023. "Global income inequality and measuring values with the world values survey," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 25(1), pages 103-122, June.
    2. Diana Bílková, 2015. "Financial Position of Czech Employees at the Beginning of the 3rd Millennium according to Educational Attainment," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2015(3), pages 307-331.
    3. Gemicioğlu, Selçuk & Soyhan, Sinem & Mollavelioğlu, M. Şükrü, 2024. "Do natural resources lead to a curse or blessing in terms of income inequality?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Sara ROSE & Crina VIJU, 2014. "Income inequality in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 5, pages 5-20, June.
    5. Kamila Sławińska & Bartosz Witkowski, 2012. "Wykorzystanie uśrednionych modeli bayesowskich do badania czynników wpływających na poziom nierówności dochodowych w wybranej grupie krajów," Collegium of Economic Analysis Annals, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis, issue 27, pages 131-144.

    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. Anneli Kaasa, 2003. "Factors Influencing Income Inequality In Transition Economies," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 18, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    2. Carmignani, Fabrizio, 2009. "The distributive effects of institutional quality when government stability is endogenous," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 409-421, December.
    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. Bourguignon, Francois, 2005. "The Effect of Economic Growth on Social Structures," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 1701-1747, Elsevier.
    5. You, Jong-Sung & Khagram, Sanjeev, 2004. "Inequality and Corruption," Working Paper Series rwp04-001, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    6. Hrushikesh Mallick, 2008. "Government Spending, Trade Openness and Economic Growth in India: A Time Series Analysis," Working Papers id:1809, eSocialSciences.
    7. Bergh, Andreas & Nilsson, Therese, 2010. "Do liberalization and globalization increase income inequality?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 488-505, December.
    8. Mueller, Dennis C. & Stratmann, Thomas, 2003. "The economic effects of democratic participation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 2129-2155, September.
    9. Sara ROSE & Crina VIJU, 2014. "Income inequality in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 5, pages 5-20, June.
    10. Gourdon, Julien, 2006. "Openness and Inequality in Developing Countries: A New Look at the Evidence," MPRA Paper 4176, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Meschi, Elena & Vivarelli, Marco, 2009. "Trade and Income Inequality in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 287-302, February.
    12. Muinelo-Gallo, Leonel & Roca-Sagalés, Oriol, 2013. "Joint determinants of fiscal policy, income inequality and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 814-824.
    13. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Marcel Thum, 2020. "Does oil rents dependency reduce the quality of education?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1863-1911, April.
    14. Sharimakin A. & Oseni M.S. & Adegboye A.C., 2015. "Education, labour productivity and income inequality in Nigeria," Annals of the University of Petrosani, Economics, University of Petrosani, Romania, vol. 15(1), pages 295-306.
    15. Anderson, Edward, 2005. "Openness and inequality in developing countries: A review of theory and recent evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1045-1063, July.
    16. Bucevska Vesna, 2019. "Determinants of Income Inequality in EU Candidate Countries: A Panel Analysis," Economic Themes, Sciendo, vol. 57(4), pages 397-413, December.
    17. Sourav Batabyal & Abdur Chowdhury, 2015. "Curbing corruption, financial development and income inequality," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 15(1), pages 49-72, January.
    18. Furquim, Lilian de Toni & Garcia, Fernando, 2001. "Inequality and economic growth in Latin," Textos para discussão 104, FGV EESP - Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).
    19. Sajjad Faraji Dizaji, 2019. "Trade openness, political institutions, and military spending (evidence from lifting Iran’s sanctions)," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 2013-2041, December.
    20. Loizides, John & Vamvoukas, George, 2005. "Government Expenditure and Economic Growth: Evidence from Trivariate Causality Testing," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 8(1), pages 1-28, May.

    More about this item

    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:mtk:febawb:40. 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: Liis Roosaar (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/febutee.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.