scholarly journals Long-Run Relatıonshıp between Economıc Freedom and Income Inequalıty: Evidence from G-7 Countrıes

Author(s):  
Zeki AKBAKAY
2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 797-815
Author(s):  
Olugbenga Onafowora ◽  
Oluwole Owoye

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the income inequality dynamics in each of the 50 states of USA over the period 1981-2011. Design/methodology/approach The paper estimates an augmented Kuznets curve panel Vector AutoRegression in per capita income, economic freedom, educational attainment, unemployment, and population ageing along with evaluating generalized impulse responses functions (GIRF) and generalized forecast-error variance decompositions (GFEVD). Findings All the variables are integrated of order one and are panel cointegrated. Kuznets’ hypothesized inverted U-shaped relationship between inequality and growth is not supported by the data. Unemployment and population ageing have statistically significant positive effects on inequality in the long-run; education has statistically significant negative impact; economic freedom has statistically insignificant positive effect. Long-run bidirectional causality exists among the variables. GFEVD show that excluding income inequality itself, variation in income inequality is more influenced by perturbations in per capita income, educational attainment, and unemployment. GIRF corroborate the results of the GFEVD. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study the causal relationship between inequality and its determining factors without assuming the a priori exogeneity or endogeneity of the underlying variables.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-215
Author(s):  
Achillefs Karakotsios ◽  
Constantinos Katrakilidis ◽  
Dimitrios Dimitriadis ◽  
Theodoros Christoforidis

Income inequality has become an important challenge for both developed and developing countries. Taxation and economic freedom are considered as important factors affecting income inequality. This paper aims at the empirical investigation of the causal relationships between income inequality, taxation and economic freedom by applying panel cointegration techniques and Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimation method on a panel of 58 countries, over the period 1995–2016. The empirical evidence supports a bidirectional long-run causal effect between taxes-to-GDP ratio and income inequality with tax-to-GDP ratio to cause negative impacts on income inequality and thus revealing the redistributive role of taxes. Furthermore, we find a positive effect from economic freedom on income inequality, suggesting a trade-off between economic freedom and income equality.


2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Jin

This paper develops a monetary endogenous growth model with capital and skill heterogeneity to analyze the relationship among inflation, growth, and income inequality. In the model inflation, growth, and inequality are jointly determined. We show that an increase in the long-run money growth rate raises inflation and reduces growth, but its effect on income inequality depends on the relative importance of the two types of heterogeneity. Inequality shrinks with the rise of inflation when capital heterogeneity dominates and enlarges when skill heterogeneity dominates. Therefore, our model supports a negative (positive) inflation–inequality relationship and a positive (negative) growth–inequality relationship when capital (skill) heterogeneity dominates. In any event, inflation and growth are negatively related.


2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 541-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernur Acikgoz ◽  
Anthony Amoah ◽  
Mine Yilmazer

This study uses three-country group panel data from 1993 to 2011 in examining the long-run effect of tax burdens (Fiscal index) and government regulations of business (Business index) on economic growth. The outcome of the panel cointegration approach suggests that the variables have a long-run relationship with economic growth. The study finds all the signs of the variables used to be consistent with theoretical expectations. Regarding the variables of interest, it is also found that the Fiscal index has a positive and significant effect on economic growth for all three-country groups. In addition, the Business index has a positive and significant effect for only two-country groups. The study finds that tax burdens and government regulations play an important role on economic growth for most countries in the sample. To harness economic growth prospects, the study offers recommendations for policy makers to consider.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caner Demir ◽  
Raif Cergibozan ◽  
Adem Gök

The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of income inequality on environmental quality in Turkey within the Environmental Kuznets Curve framework. In order to observe the short-run and long-run effects of income inequality on environmental quality, an autoregressive distributed lag bounds test on CO2 emission has been employed for the period 1963–2011 of Turkey. The results of the analysis reveal that there is a negative association between CO2 emission level and income inequality, which implies that increasing income inequality reduces environmental degradation in Turkey. Hence, a greater inequality in the society leads to less aggregate consumption in the economy due to lower propensity to emit in the richer households resulting in better environmental quality. The findings confirm an argument in the existing literature, which suggests that for developing countries, until a certain level of development, environmental degradation increases as income inequality in the society decreases. The results also confirm the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 226
Author(s):  
Ademola Obafemi Young

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.


2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Bahmani-Oskooee ◽  
Scott W. Hegerty ◽  
Harvey Wilmeth
Keyword(s):  
Long Run ◽  

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