The effects of debt restructurings on income inequality in the developing world

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110014
Author(s):  
Glen Biglaiser ◽  
Ronald J. McGauvran
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

Developing countries, saddled with debts, often prefer investors absorb losses through debt restructurings. By not making full repayments, debtor governments could increase social spending, serving poorer constituents, and, in turn, lowering income inequality. Alternatively, debtor governments could reduce taxes and cut government spending, bolstering the assets of the rich at the expense of the poor. Using panel data for 71 developing countries from 1986 to 2016, we assess the effects of debt restructurings on societal income distribution. Specifically, we study the impact of debt restructurings on social spending, tax reform, and income inequality. We find that countries receiving debt restructurings tend to use their newly acquired economic flexibility to reduce taxes and lower social spending, worsening income inequality. The results are also robust to different model specifications. Our study contributes to the globalization and the poor debate, suggesting the economic harm caused to the less well-off following debt restructurings.

THE IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON THE LABOR SHARE: EVIDENCE FROM ASIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (supp01) ◽  
pp. 57-73
Author(s):  
XIAOSHAN HU ◽  
GUANGHUA WAN ◽  
JING WANG
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Labor Income ◽  
Significant Determinant ◽  
Outward Fdi ◽  
Labor Share ◽  
The Impact

The decline in the share of labor income — an indicator of functional income distribution — has contributed to rising income inequality world-wide. Despite a growing literature, little is known about the effects of globalization on the labor share or inequality in Asia where some of the economies are most globalized. Applying fixed-effect regressions to panel data from 29 Asian economies over the period from 1980 to 2014, we focus on the impacts of globalization on the labor share in Asia where globalization is measured by trade openness and FDI. The modeling results show that trade openness is a significant determinant of the labor share. More specifically, the impact of export is significantly negative and the impact of import is positive. In terms of FDI, the coefficient of the inward FDI is significantly positive and that of the outward FDI is significantly negative in developing countries only.

scholarly journals The Impact of Zakat on Poverty and Welfare in West Sumatera

2019 ◽  
pp. 367-377
Author(s):  
Dian Fitriarni Sari ◽  
Irfan Syauqi Beik ◽  
Wiwiek Rindayanti
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Index Method ◽  
Taxable Income ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Welfare Index ◽  
Financial Obligation ◽  
The Impact

Poverty is still a problem faced by all developing countries such as Indonesia. Indonesia's population is predominantly Muslim. One way to reduce poverty is by empowering the zakat system. zakat is an annual financial obligation of Muslim wealth which has reached a wealth surplus (Nishab). Regulations that apply in Indonesia, zakat as a deduction from taxable income has a potential value of zakat 1.57 percent of GDP. West Sumatera is one of the province of Indonesia that has obliged zakat for the State Civil Apparatus. West Sumatera has a zakat potential of IDR 1.7 trillion. This study aims to see how zakat can be an instrument of poverty reduction and a bridge between the poor and the rich. Not only in terms of wealth, but also in terms of spiritual. This study uses the BAZNAS Welfare Index method. The analysis found that the value of the BAZNAS Welfare Index was in the good category.

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.

scholarly journals Income Inequality, Redistribution of Income and Trade Openness

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 865-874
Author(s):  
Adeel Ali ◽  
Syed Faizan Iftikhar ◽  
Ambreen Fatima ◽  
Lubna Naz
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Distribution Of Income

Literature on nexus between trade openness and government spending is impressive [Atif, et al. (2012), Rudra (2004), Dani (1997) and McGuire (1999)]. The literature is growing rapidly. Analysts have documented the positive effects of government social spending [see for example Mesa-Lago (1994); Huber (1996); Weyland (1996); McGuire (1999)]. Unfortunately, Pakistan lacks empirical evidences on the impact of government social spending. Although Government of Pakistan has taken number of initiatives to have some form of redistribution policies, however, inequality in Pakistan is higher as compared to other Least Developed Countries that are open to trade. This situation is alarming. This paper therefore tries to identify the nexus between trade openness and social spending for the period 1975–2012. International evidence suggests that government social spending influences poverty and distribution of income. Pakistan‘s low level achievement in terms of reducing inequality, given the likely adverse economic impact of trade openness, point towards the fact that government has to design the policy in such a way that it affects the distribution of income. Thus, exploring the effect of social spending on income inequality is necessary for the concerned policy makers.

scholarly journals Eradicating Income Inequality in Lower Middle-Income Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-231
Author(s):  
Tangguh Pratysto ◽  
Ingrid Panjaitan
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Physical Capital ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

Studying the distribution of income is an important issue to know what factors which affect to make income distribution more equitable, what factors can be the key to resolving the problem of income inequality, and shortening the distance between the poor and the rich. This paper studies the relationship between human capital, inflation rate, unemployment rate, physical capital, fiscal expenditure, gross domestic product growth, and urbanization on income inequality in 52 Lower Middle-Income Countries throughout 1990-2014. The authors estimate the impact of seven independent variables on income inequality as a dependent using Prais-Winsten with the robust model over period 1990-2014 at 52 Lower Middle-Income Countries. The results indicate an increase in human capital (gross school enrollment tertiary) can make the income distribution more even in the long run. The writers conclude that increases in human capital can reduce Gini coefficient and hence make income distribution fairer.

scholarly journals Economic Development Paper

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Annisa
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Relative Poverty ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Distribution Of Income

The main problems in economic development are increasing economic growth, eliminating poverty and eliminating poverty. In some destination countries it is sometimes a dilemma between emphasizing economic growth or reducing inequality in income distribution (Deininger and Olinto, 2000). High growth does not necessarily guarantee that the inequality of income distribution will be low.Poverty and income inequality are two things that are being intensely emphasized by the government's growth. Inequality is closely related to poverty because fundamentally inequality is an indicator of relative poverty, namely the gap between the rich and the poor. The low level of inequality, or the more even distribution of income, is certainly one of the important agendas of economic development.To measure economic inequality can be seen using the Gini ratio. Gini ratio is an indicator of income distribution level indicated by a coefficient of zero to one, which means the higher the coefficient, the more uneven distribution of income of the population.

Cooperation dynamics of polycentric climate governance

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (13) ◽  
pp. 2503-2517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vítor V. Vasconcelos ◽  
Francisco C. Santos ◽  
Jorge M. Pacheco
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Evolutionary Game ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Global Coordination ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Climate Change Governance

Global coordination for the preservation of a common good, such as climate, is one of the most prominent challenges of modern societies. In this manuscript, we use the framework of evolutionary game theory to investigate whether a polycentric structure of multiple small-scale agreements provides a viable solution to solve global dilemmas as climate change governance. We review a stochastic model which incorporates a threshold game of collective action and the idea of risky goods, capturing essential features unveiled in recent experiments. We show how reducing uncertainty both in terms of the perception of disaster and in terms of goals induce a transition to cooperation. Taking into account wealth inequality, we explore the impact of the homophily, potentially present in the network of influence of the rich and the poor, in the different contributions of the players. Finally, we discuss the impact of polycentric sanctioning institutions, showing how such a scenario also proves to be more efficient than a single global institution.

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.

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