scholarly journals Economic growth and the optimal inequality of income

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 89-99
Author(s):  
Jan Jacek Sztaudynger

Inequality of income is one of the significant factors forming social capital. Two views dominate among economists dealing with the influence of income inequality on economic growth. On the one hand, a too low level of income inequality does not motivate people to increase their labour productivity. Low inequality of income might result from an extended social care system and a GDP burdened with social transfers. A good example may be a situation when an unemployed person refuses to accept a job offer and prefers unemployment benefits to a slightly higher salary. Moreover, a lack of incentives for an employee who fails to acknowledge the economic sense of increasing the productivity of his or her work might lead to a slower growth of the economy. On the other hand, a contrary view suggests that an increase in inequality of income has a negative impact on the economy. The accumulation of wealth by a small number of citizens raises doubts about the good use of that wealth for the investments necessary for the growth of the economy. Excessive inequality of income is confronted with the disapproval of a significant part of society and is regarded as unfair and unjustified. It may also increase the crime rate, decrease trust and, more generally, lead to the weakening of social capital. The arguments presented above lead to the hypothesis that the influence of income inequality on the growth of the economy has a non-linear, parabolic character. We have confirmed this hypothesis in growth models of the US and Swedish economies. We assess the historically optimal inequality of income measured by the Gini coefficient at 46% and 24% for the US and Sweden, respectively. The optimal inequality of income for Poland was assessed previously at 29%. The dissimilarities may result from differences in culture, society, educational level and diligence.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-53
Author(s):  
Yves Rocha De Salles Lima ◽  
Tatiane Stellet Machado ◽  
Joao Jose de Assis Rangel

The objetive of this work is to analyze the variation of CO2 emissions and GDP per capita throughout the years and identify the possible interaction between them. For this purpose, data from the International Energy Agency was collected on two countries, Brazil and the one with the highest GDP worldwide, the United States. Thus, the results showed that CO2 emissions have been following the country’s economic growth for many years. However, these two indicators have started to decouple in the US in 2007 while in Brazil the same happened in 2011. Furthermore, projections for CO2 emissions are made until 2040, considering 6 probable scenarios. These projections showed that even if the oil price decreases, the emissions will not be significantly affected as long as the economic growth does not decelerate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 547-558
Author(s):  
Hamza Saleem ◽  
Fatima Farooq ◽  
Muhammad Aurmaghan

The major objective of this research is to examine the relationship between poverty, income inequality and economic growth from some selected developing countries. This study uses panel data for the period of 2002-2015. All the data is taken from world development indicators (WDI). To find out the results, we have used Hausman test an econometrics technique for panel data in this research. The results of the study indicate that poverty and income inequality have a negative impact on economic growth on the other hand Gross capital formation, labor force, total population and government consumption and expenditure have a positive impact on economic growth. The result tells us that changes in these variables have a significant and positive effect on the dependent variable. To achieve the goal of economic growth developing countries should reduce poverty and take meaningful steps to overcome the problem of inequality in the society which can be very helpful in achieving the goal of economic growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 102229
Author(s):  
Ugochukwu Michael Anyanwu ◽  
Amarachukwu Anthony Anyanwu ◽  
Andrzej Cieślik

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma Ying ◽  
Li Jing ◽  
Yu Guansheng ◽  
Yuan Dongyang

Abstract In this paper, we use China’s 1986-2008 data to make an empirical analysis on the interrelationship between trade openness, economic growth and the structural change of labor-intensive industries by using simultaneous equation models and a VAR model. Our empirical study leads to the three conclusions. First, trade openness has accelerated economic growth, though with some negative impact on the development of labor-intensive industries; Second, economic growth has had a positive effect on trade openness, but again negatively impacted the development of labor-intensive industries. Third, the expansion of labor-intensive industries has had negative effects on both trade openness and economic growth. Methodologically we rely on the transformation theory of industrial structure as an analytical framework to empirically study these three paradoxical outcomes. We introduce the three variables: trade openness, economic growth and the change of labor-intensive industries, as dependent as well as independent variables into our empirical models. And then we use technological progress, the share of secondary industries to GDP, total employment and investment ratio as control variables in order to test the robustness of the empirical results. In addition to explaining the factors responsible for changes in labor-intensive export industries we also provide two policy implications: First, labor-intensive industries should be scaled down to improve the efficiency of resources allocation. Second, China should timely transform its industrial structure of the export sectors from the one that is dominated by labor-intensive industries to the one that is dominated by capital (technology)-intensive industries so as to induce the export sectors to move in the direction favorable to the transformation of China’s present outward pattern of economic development.


2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-290
Author(s):  
Robert E. Bedeski

After decades of intensive economic growth Japan is under pressure to translate its material success into international influence. This new role appears to be taking shape under Prime Minister Nakasone. The country faces rising protectionism sentiments from its major trading partners, and a growing military threat from the USSR. Nakasone has maintained a solid working relation with President Reagan, while adopting a hawkish stance towards the USSR. Nevertheless, Japan still remains under the US nuclear umbrella. Nakasone has pursued closer relations with South Korea. His first foreign visit as prime minister was to Seoul. The Chinese have been concerned about symptoms of remilitarization on the one hand, but also recognize that a greated Japanese security presence will help to diffuse the Soviet threat in the region, thus relieving pressure on Beijing. The first six months of Nakasone's administration thus indicated that Japan may be embarking on a diplomatic and defence course which has a higher profile than in the past.


Author(s):  
Saloni Dev ◽  
Daniel Kim

In the US, the incidence of depression and suicide have followed escalating trends over the past several years. These trends call for greater efforts towards identifying their underlying drivers and finding effective prevention strategies and treatments. One social determinant of health that plausibly influences the risk of depression is income inequality, the gap between the rich and poor. However, research on this association is still sparse. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the US Census to investigate the multilevel lagged associations of state-level income inequality with the individual-level odds of depression in middle-aged adults, controlling for state- and individual-level factors. We also examined the independent associations of county-level social capital with depression and explored whether it mediated the income inequality relationship. Higher income inequality at the state level predicted higher odds of individual-level depression nearly 2 decades later [OR for middle vs. lowest tertile of income inequality = 1.35 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.76), OR for highest vs. lowest tertile = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.78)]. This association was stronger among men than women. Furthermore, there was evidence that county-level social capital independently predicted depression and that it mediated the income inequality association. Overall, our findings suggest that policies attenuating levels of income inequality at the US state level and that leverage social capital may protect against one’s likelihood of developing depression.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2394
Author(s):  
Georgeta Soava ◽  
Anca Mehedintu ◽  
Mihaela Sterpu ◽  
Eugenia Grecu

This paper analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic growth and electricity consumption and investigates the hypothesis of the influence of this consumption on the gross domestic product (GDP) for Romania. Using time series on monthly electricity consumption and quarterly GDP and a multi-linear regression model, we performed an analysis of the evolution of these indicators for 2007–2020, a comparison between their behavior during the financial crisis vs. COVID-19 crisis, and empirically explore the relationships between GDP and electricity consumption or some of its components. The results of the analysis confirm that the shock of declining activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe negative impact on electric energy consumption and GDP in the first half of 2020, followed by a slight recovery. By using a linear regression model, long-term relationships between GDP and domestic and non-household electricity consumptions were found. The empirically estimated elasticity coefficients confirm the more important impact of non-household electricity consumption on GDP compared to the one of domestic electricity consumption. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of the study could be useful for optimizing energy and economic growth policies at the national and European levels.


Author(s):  
Tamara Kocurová ◽  
David Hampel

In this article, there is explored the dependence of economic performance and economic growth on income inequality expressed by Gini coefficient and S80/S20 ratio. Analysis is based on data collected upon EU countries in years 2007, 2012 and 2017. Cluster analysis points out to heterogeneity of EU countries in observed characteristics and enables creation of three groups of countries: post-socialistic, southern and northern. Regression analysis, which takes into account groups of countries, was used to assess and illustrate the dependence. The results show that income inequality has a negative impact on the country's GDP per capita, and its impact on economic growth differs for particular groups of countries.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-75
Author(s):  
Jan Jacek Sztaudynger

Abstract In the article we test the hypothesis that the weakening of family ties, as measured by the reduction in the number of marriages, a cascade of divorces and the decrease in the fertility rate, has brought about an economic slowdown in Poland. We also suppose that the economic growth and increased standard of living influence the increasing number of marriages, the fertility rate, and results in a decreasing number of divorces. We verify these hypotheses using an econometric model of economic growth with the family social capital. The model consists of seven stochastic equations and exhibits the feedback between GDP, labour productivity and some variables representing social capital, in particular the marriage disintegration ratio. We try to verify the hypothesis of the existence of an optimal divorce rate for economic growth.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document