scholarly journals Exclusive Goods and Formal-Sector Employment

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 242-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reto Foellmi ◽  
Josef Zweimüller
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Aggregate Demand ◽  
Differentiated Products ◽  
Price Setting ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Nonhomothetic Preferences ◽  
Unskilled Workers ◽  
The Rich

We explore how the underemployment problem of less-developed economies is related to income inequality. Consumers have nonhomothetic preferences over differentiated products of formal-sector goods and thus inequality affects the composition of aggregate demand via the price-setting behavior of firms. We find that high inequality divides the formal sector into mass producers and exclusive producers (which serve only the rich); high inequality generates an equilibrium where many workers are crowded into the informal economy; and an increase in subsistence productivity raises the unskilled workers' wages and boosts employment due to the higher purchasing power of poorer households. (JEL D31, D43, E24, E26, J24)

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.

scholarly journals Informality and Economic Growth in Nigeria: 1980-2014

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Yelwa ◽  
A. J. Adam
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Female Population ◽  
Demand Deposit ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Adf Test ◽  
The Relationship

<p><em>The paper examines the impact of informal sector activities on economic growth in Nigeria between 1980-2014. The contributions of informal sector activities to the growth of Nigerian economy cannot be over emphasized. It is the source of livelihood to the majority of poor, unskilled, socially marginalized and female population and is the vital means of survival for the people in the country lacking proper safety nets and unemployment insurance especially those lacking skills from formal sector jobs. The relationship between informality and economic growth is not clear because the sector is not regulated by the law also there is no concrete evidence that this sector enhances growth because the sector’s contributions to growth is not measured. The use of endogenous growth model becomes relevant in this study. The theory emphasizes the role of production on the long-run via a higher rate of technological innovation. The variables that were tested are official economy nominal GDP, informal economy nominal GDP, currency in circulation, demand deposit, ratio of currency in circulation to demand deposit, narrow money, informal economy as percentage of official economy. ADF test was conducted to establish that the data series of all variables are stationary t levels. Having established the stationarity test we also, conducted causality test of the response of official economy nominal GDP to informal economy nominal GDP. In conclusion, the impact of informal sector economy on economic growth in Nigeria is quiet commendable. Even though, the relationship between informality and economic growth is not straight. The paper recommended thus, the need for the government to integrate the activities of the informal economy into formal sector and size of the sector is measured and regulated because their roles are commendable. As it will improve tax collection and enhance fiscal policy.</em></p>

scholarly journals Citizens of Serbia in focus of the labour market

Stanovnistvo ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo Sukovic
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Mutual Dependence

This paper analyzes the mutual dependence of the labor market and the population, since the supply of the labor force depends on population size and its structure. The demographic aspects of the labor market are especially analyzed and it is shown that the supply of the labor force does not depend only on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the population but that the mutual dependence of the labor market and demographic factors are much more complex and multiply expressive. An analysis of the key trends on the labor market presented in this paper indicates that the global economy requires an increasingly flexible labor force. In that sense, the forecasts of numerous economists and sociologists are based on the conviction that more and more people in future will become workers with a portfolio. They will posses a certain number of skills and qualifications which they will use to transfer from one job on to another during their working life. A continuous profession, namely a steady career, in today's sense of the word, will only a relatively small number of people have. It all goes in favor of the theory that having a 'job for your whole working life' is becoming a thing of the past. In this paper it is further concluded that for tracing the path for an efficient labor market, it should be considered that, during the nineties of the last century, there has been an increase in poverty and a change in population structure, not only because of a large inflow of refugees and internally displaced persons, but due to emigration of the younger population and an increase of the old, ill and dependant persons. All these changes greatly influenced the supply of the labor force, in a quantitative and qualitative way, and thus the strategy for increasing employment should be adjusted. The rapid expansion of the underground-informal economy must be added to all this, which grew rapidly in the nineties of the last century, naturally to the detriment of the formal sector. This paper especially stresses that the economic crisis has large unfavorable consequences on our labor market. The estimation of numerous experts indicate that after the economic recovery and end of the economic crisis, unemployment will still be very high and that the recovery of the labor market will be the slowest, namely that the effects of the economic recovery will reflect the slowest on the labor market, namely employment increase. For this reason it will be necessary to stimulate the reformative processes of the labor market so as to increase its efficiency and thus create conditions to rationally engage the large working potential of Serbia's population, which is one of the key prerequisites for larger economic growth and development.

Neo-Dualism: Accumulation, Distress, and Proliferation of a Fissured Informality

2021 ◽  
pp. 048661342110121
Author(s):  
Kasturi Sadhu ◽  
Saumya Chakrabarti
Keyword(s):  
Informal Sector ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Growth Process ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Macro Model ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Firm Level Data

A dominant strand of orthodoxy argues that the problem of the informal sector could be mitigated through the capitalistic growth process. But our observations on India are different—with an expansion of the capitalistic formal sector, as the economy grows, there is a proliferation of fissured informality. Using a structuralist macro-model, we provide certain explanations for this phenomenon, which are also tested empirically using Indian subnational-state and firm-level data. Thus, we explore both the short- and long-run effects of the expansion of the formal sector on the heterogeneous informal economy. While a section of the population is pulled into the advanced informal activities, a vast segment is pushed to petty production. Accordingly, the orthodox transition narrative is questioned and alternative policy and political possibilities are introduced. JEL Classification: O11, O13, O17, P48

scholarly journals Growth Impacts of Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence From Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 226
Author(s):  
Ademola Obafemi Young
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Growth Time ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Property Rights Protection ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
The Impact

The debate on whether income inequality promotes, restricts, or is independent of economic growth has been widely studied and discussed in development economics discourse. However, a careful reading of this extensive extant and burgeoning literature suggests that, other than the ambivalent nature and the fact that the bulk of these studies relied heavily on cross-section/-country/panel econometric analysis, empirical studies examining the nexus in the context of less developed economies, particularly, African countries, has received less attention, as most of the extant studies predominantly focused on developed economies. This current study, thus, attempts to examine the impact of inequality on growth in Nigeria spanning between the period 1970 and 2018. It also examined the theoretical predictions of some of the distinct transmission channels through which inequality impacts growth. Time series econometrics were applied. The results obtained consistently revealed that inequality hurts long-run growth in Nigeria. Also, the results obtained revealed that inequality in income increases relative redistribution and fertility, but lessens investment, gross enrollment ratio, and property rights protection in Nigeria, which may in turn impede growth.

Income Inequality and Economic Development

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew McKeever
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Considerable Debate ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship

The nature of the relationship between economic development and income inequality has long been the subject of considerable debate. Economic growth has very different effects on poverty, depending on a country’s level of income inequality. In high inequality countries, economic growth that raises the overall level of income disproportionately tends to benefit the rich, whereas policies that encourage economic growth while reducing income inequality will greatly accelerate the achievement of poverty reduction goals. Thus, understanding how income inequality and economic development are linked is important for establishing economic growth policies that reduce poverty. The literature on the economic development–income inequality nexus in industrial society places emphasis on the causes of current social inequality. The central and most cited paper in the literature is S. Kuznets’s “Economic Growth and Income Inequality” (1955), which proposed an inverted U-shaped relationship between development and inequality over the course of industrialization. Some scholars have tried to build upon Kuznets’s theory by focusing on his claim that income inequality is a function of the nature of regulations put on the market. Other studies deal with the importance of studying the relationship between democracy and inequality, the effect of the nature of the government on shaping inequality compared to industrialization, and the implications of globalization for income inequality. This overview of the literature shows that there is little true consensus on the relationship between inequality and development and highlights two major areas for improvement: measurement and data quality.

The effects of bond ratings on income inequality in the developing world

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Glen Biglaiser ◽  
Ronald McGauvran
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Interest Rate ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Bond Ratings ◽  
Monetary Policies ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Interest Rate Spreads ◽  
The Rich

Abstract Although the effects of globalization on income inequality has received much attention, missing from the discussion is the role played by credit rating agencies (CRAs) on income inequality. Using a sample of seventy developing countries from 1990–2015, we find that bond ratings have significant, yet indirect, effects on income inequality. We see that interest rate spreads, and to a lesser degree tax, labor, and monetary policies, mediate the relationship between ratings and income inequality. Specifically, developing countries receiving bond downgrades observe a rise in interest rate spreads. Countries with higher interest rate spreads tend to have less available credit, which reduces output and production, promoting surplus labor and its consequences for those at the bottom of the income distribution. Bond downgrades also compel developing countries to pursue neoliberal reforms, endorsed by the CRAs, in an attempt to lift their ratings. The effects of tax, labor, and monetary policies, in particular, appear to enlarge disparities between the rich and the poor. Our research helps to identify the mechanism by which CRAs and globalization, more generally, impact wealth disparities in the developing world.

scholarly journals China's Post-Socialist Inequality

2012 ◽  
Vol 111 (746) ◽  
pp. 229-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin King Whyte
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Sharp Increase ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

The country's sharp increase in income inequality is not the result of the rich getting richer while the poor become poorer.

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