Why Africans tolerate income inequality

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-365
Author(s):  
Philip Nel
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Transition Countries ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Tunnel Effect ◽  
African Context ◽  
Crucial Part

AbstractAfrican attitudes to income inequality have hardly been studied. As a result, we may have been missing a crucial part of the answer to the question why Africa is so unequal. This paper presents evidence that, across all self-identified class categories, African respondents in 16 African states, representative of all the regions of the continent, are on average considerably more tolerant of inequality than respondents from 43 comparable developing and transition countries. The aim of the paper is to try and explain these differences. It concludes that (a) a modified version of Albert Hirschman's notion of the ‘tunnel effect’ and (b) religious devotedness in the African context provide explanations for the observed variation between African respondents and their counterparts elsewhere. Experienced inequality, in contrast to overall income distribution, influences the tunnel effect more widely than economic growth. Religious belief shapes inequality tolerance in Africa more than the observance of religious practices.

scholarly journals Economic Growth and Income Inequality in Developing Countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 79-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Nemati ◽  
Ghasem Raisi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Eradication ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

Nowadays, improvement in income distribution and poverty eradication and hence low inequality are served as the main objectives of economic and social development strategy even prior than primary tasks of governments. to manifest importance of income distribution, some economists adopt income inequality and income distribution in society as criteria for economic system of the community, although these criteria and measures are theoretical for the economic system and this varies from the perspective of different people, however, it denotes on  importance of income distribution among individuals. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of economic growth on income inequality in the selection of low-income developing countries.To this end, using panel data and data for 28 developing countries over the period 1990-2010 the relationship between GDP and the Gini coefficient was examined. The results indicate that as per hypothesis Kuznets in the early stages of growth, income inequality increases and then it declines in later stage.

scholarly journals PERTUMBUHAN EKONOMI, KETIMPANGAN PEDAPATAN DAN DESENTRALISASI DI INDONESIA

KINERJA ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Lestari Agusalim
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Gini Index ◽  
National Income ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Regression Approach

AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji pengaruh desentralisasi dalam mendistribusikan pendapatan nasional untuk mengurangi ketimpangan pendapatan di Indonesia. Data yang digunakan adalah data sekunder, yaitu PDB sebagai representasi pendapatan nasional dan data indeks gini sebagai representasi tingkat ketimpangan pendapatan dengan rentang waktu 1978-2015. Metode analisis menggunakan regresi linear dengan pendekatan OLS dimana Indeks gini digunakan sebagai variabel dependen, dan PDB sebagai variabel independen. Selain itu, terdapat variabel independen lainnya, yaitu variabel dummy desentralisasi yang berguna untuk mengetahui pengaruh desentralisasi terhadap ketimpangan pendapatan. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa dari aspek ekonomi, desentralisasi belum mampu mendistribusikan pertumbuhan ekonomi untuk memperkecil ketimpangan pendapatan masyarakat.Kata Kunci: Pertumbuhan Ekonomi, Ketimpangan Pendapatan, DesentralisasiAbstractThis research aims to analyze the effect of decentralization on national income distribution and the reduce of income Inequality in Indonesia. This research used secondary data with gross domestic product (GDP) representing national income and gini index data representing income inequality from 1978 to 2015. An OLS Linear Regression approach was employed where the gini index was the dependent variable, and the independent variables were GDP and the Dummy for decentralization implementation. The result revealed that decentralization had not been able to distribute economic growth to minimize income Inequality.Keywords: Economic Growth, Income Inequality, Decentralization

On the Impact of Government Institutions on Economic Growth and Income Inequality in Russia

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Леонид Басовский ◽  
Leonid Basovskiy ◽  
В. Бабанов ◽  
V. Babanov ◽  
Елена Басовская ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact

In order to assess the extent to which the institutions of government in the current conditions in recent years in Russia — the activity of government officials and local governments affected economic growth, the correlation of the number of this category of workers with the growth rates of the economy was evaluated. The results show that by 2002 the positive correlation between the number of employees of state bodies and local self-government and the rate of economic growth was a negative one. The activities of employees of state and local governments began to slow down economic growth in the country. In order to assess how the change in the level of inequality of income distribution in modern Russia is due to the activities of employees of state-shock authorities and local self-government, its relation to the number of employees in this category of funds, which reflects the degree of income inequality, was evaluated. The results show that by 2011 the negative relationship between the number of employees of state bodies and local governments and the level of inequality of income distribution of growth replaced by a positive relationship. The activities of employees of state and local governments began to contribute to reducing the level of inequality of income distribution in the country.

scholarly journals Income Inequality: Do Different Inequality Measures Show Different Impacts on Economic Growth, at the State Level? An Analysis of the State of New Jersey

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Bertram Chukwudum Ifeanyi Okpokwasili
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Inequality Measure ◽  
Inequality Measures ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Different Levels

<p>This paper investigates whether the use of different inequality measures is instrumental in determining impact on economic growth at the State level. We find that different measures show different levels of significance with respect to economic health. We study New Jersey income distribution and shares from 1964 to 2014, using graphs and statistics. The dual analyses approach and the use of different inequality measures enabled conclusions to be reached, that only one view and one inequality measure would have made difficult, if not misleading. New Jersey Real GDP/Capita (RGC) was going up, whether or not the inequality measure was getting better. Inequality had little or no effect on the direction of the RGC. Economic Growth is not a good measure of the effects of inequality.</p>

scholarly journals Governance and economic welfare: A BRICS panel analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2, special issue) ◽  
pp. 290-299
Author(s):  
Adrino Mazenda ◽  
Priviledge Cheteni
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Economic Welfare ◽  
Brics Countries

An effective governance structure is central to growth, sustainable development and equal income distribution (economic welfare) (Glass & Newig, 2020). Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) countries differ in governance structure with varying outcomes on economic welfare. This article explores the extent to which governance impacts economic welfare in BRICS countries viewed as an emerging powerhouse, with significant growth prospects — yet distinct in their governance systems, and income variability amongst its population. The article utilised panel static models (pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and fixed effects (FEs) estimator) from 1996 to 2019 to investigate the effects of governance proxied by the World Bank World Governance Indicators (WGI) on economic welfare (proxied from two channels): quantitative (output stock/economic growth) and qualitative (reduced income inequality). The two channels combine the ordinary measure of welfare: gross domestic product (GDP), a proxy for economic growth, household and income distribution, and a proxy for income inequality drawing (Heys, 2019). The findings revealed that governance produced varying results on the economic welfare in BRICS. Democratic countries which practise good governance principles (South Africa and Brazil) had a negative economic welfare effect from both channels compared to one-party states, such as China and Russia. Therefore, the findings invalidate the null hypothesis that good governance is a catalyst for economic welfare. Sound policies, especially on structural change and equitable income distribution are necessary to enhance economic welfare in BRICS countries. The article is relevant and discloses iterations of the distinction between good governance and sound policy implications on developing nations’ economic welfare.

Foreign Direct Investment as a Tool for Poverty Alleviation

2016 ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
James Rossi ◽  
Genevieve Dupont
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
The Relationship

It has been argued that “Absolute poverty can be alleviated if at least two conditions are met. First, economic growth must occur—or mean income must rise—on a sustained basis. Second, economic growth must be neutral with respect to income distribution or reduce income inequality.” By way of reference to current and previous literature on economic development, this chapter aims to investigate the relationship between poverty, economic growth, and income distribution, as a means of mitigating gaps in the literature on the topic, as well as contributing to the literature of Foreign Direct Investment as a tool for poverty alleviation.

scholarly journals The Conditional Relationship between Inequality and Development

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 645-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carles Boix
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Persistent Inequality ◽  
Do So

In recent years political scientists and economists have spent considerable efforts investigating the impact of income inequality both on political institutions and social conflict (Boix 2003, 2008; Acemoglu and Robinson 2006; Geddes 2007) and on growth and development (Atkinson and Bourguignon 2000). In this article I focus on the latter question: I discuss the extent to which (that is, the conditions under which) inequality may hinder economic growth. I do so by moving away from the current literature, which models the relationship between development and inequality in a linear fashion—with the latter unconditionally distorting (or boosting) the incentives to invest and therefore reducing (or increasing) the rate of growth. Instead, I claim that the potential correlation between inequality and development will be always conditional on the (mostly political and institutional) causes that generate the existing income distribution to start with. Hence it is not surprising to find instances in which growth and (mostly temporary) inequality come hand in hand as well as other periods and countries where there is both high and persistent inequality jointly with economic stagnation.

Great Escapes and Great Divergences

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Population Distribution ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Extreme Poverty ◽  
The Past ◽  
World Income

This article highlights ambiguities and indeterminacies in our knowledge about growth, inequality, and poverty, stemming in particular from measurement difficulties and from differences in measures of what is ostensibly the same thing (“poverty,” “inequality”). It examines global income distribution, patterns of economic growth, the movement of countries in the global income hierarchy, trends in income distribution between countries and between individuals or households, and trends in the incidence of “extreme” and “ordinary” poverty. The article begins with a snapshop of world income and population distribution, followed by a discussion on growth and geographical distribution. It then considers income inequality within countries, along with income inequality between countries and all people. It shows that the global income distribution is still highly polarized and that the proportion of the world’s population living in the degree of poverty which kills—“extreme poverty”—has probably fallen over the past several decades.

Environmental quality: impact of economic growth

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 673-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Bansal
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Quality Attribute ◽  
Product Model ◽  
Environmental Friendliness ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Regulatory Measure

AbstractUsing a vertically differentiated product model, the paper aims to investigate the effects of economic growth on market provision of product quality. The quality attribute considered is the environmental friendliness of products. Economic growth is modeled as a shift in income distribution. It shows that the effect of economic growth depends on the form it takes. A growth in income that is uniform across consumers improves the cleanup levels adopted by both firms. However, a growth in income that is accompanied by changes in income inequality may result in the lowering of one of the two qualities. More specifically, if the growth in income is accompanied by increased disparities in income distribution, the quality of the (environmentally) inferior variant is reduced. This has serious implications for the poor consumers if the product has safety or health hazards. The paper suggests a regulatory measure to prevent such deterioration in the quality of the inferior variant.

scholarly journals Governance and Income Inequality

2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (4II) ◽  
pp. 751-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saima Shafique ◽  
Rashida Haq
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Poor

Major problems of developing countries are unequal income distribution and low growth rate, which affect their welfare aspects. It was implicitly assumed that whenever we achieve target of higher growth rate, benefit of growth would automatically trickle down to the poor. History of developing countries shows that the rich benefited more than the poor as evidenced by rising income inequality during the period of higher economic growth. The economic policy changes are often triggered by the logic of low level of equilibrium of output level, employment and income distribution. To overcome this low level of equilibrium trap, government often adopt polices so as to achieve high level of income and employment growth and development, and equitable income distribution. Coherent policy instruments are essential to meet these policy targets. Impact of any macro economic policy has been examined by studying its impact on economic growth and income distribution. In recent years polices have been directed toward reducing the level of poverty and inequality through raising quality of life in society by providing efficient and effective governance. This new economic philosophy has resulted in a massive change in the policy orientation of countries; the priority is now centred on issue of governance and focus is now shifted towards a qualitative nature of its growth and development. According to Sen (1983), the realisation of human capabilities, that enlarge the range of human choices, is essential for a broader notion and measure of economic well-being. The institutional frame work is then considered as one of the essential elements for translating growth and well-being into a sustainable process.

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