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Inequality of income and wealth in the long run: A Kaldorian perspective

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  • Ryoo, Soon

    (Department of Finance and Economics, Adelphi University)

Abstract

The paper examines the determinants of income and wealth inequality in a Kaldorian model where the profit share adjusts to clear the goods market and the long-run output-capital ratio is constant. The approach is radically different from both the mainstream approach that stresses properties of production function and the Kaleckian approach that emphasizes the long-run adjustment of utilization. The Kaldorian model is used to identify several developments that may have caused increasing inequality in income and wealth since the early 1980s, including the shift of the power relation in corporate firms in favor of top managerial pay, the decline in the retention rate, increasing share buybacks, rising indebtedness of lower-income households, and the stock market boom in the 1990s. In contrast to Piketty's explanation, the decline in the natural rate of growth reduces inequality of income and wealth in this Kaldorian framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Ryoo, Soon, 2015. "Inequality of income and wealth in the long run: A Kaldorian perspective," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2015-09, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ums:papers:2015-09
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    Cited by:

    1. Soon Ryoo, 2018. "Top income shares and aggregate wealth-income ratio in a two-class corporate economy [Growth and distribution in heterodox models with managers and financiers]," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 42(3), pages 699-728.
    2. Michalis Nikiforos, 2015. "A Nonbehavioral Theory of Saving," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_844, Levy Economics Institute.
    3. Michaelis Nikiforos, 2018. "Distribution-led growth through methodological lenses," FMM Working Paper 24-2018, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    4. Luca Zamparelli, 2017. "Wealth Distribution, Elasticity of Substitution and Piketty: An ‘Anti-Dual’ Pasinetti Economy," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 927-946, November.
    5. Peter Skott, 2017. "Weaknesses of 'wage-led growth'," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 5(3), pages 336-359, July.
    6. Hao, Yunping & Zhang, Bing, 2024. "The impact of digital financial usage on resident’s income inequality in China: An empirical analysis based on CHFS data," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    income and wealth distribution; managerial pay; financialization; stock- flow consistency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy

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