How Effective Is Fiscal Decentralization for Inequality Reduction in Developing Countries?

The relationship between fiscal decentralization and vertical inequality has long received attention by fiscal federalism theorists. However, horizontal inequality has been largely overlooked. This study will present a novel empirical examination of the relationship between fiscal decentralization, vertical inequality, and horizontal inequality. Specifically, it will focus on how institutional quality and military expenditure affect the fiscal decentralization–inequality nexus across 33 developing countries in the period 1990–2014. Findings indicate that varieties of fiscal authority have a significant effect on distribution of income and ethnic inequality. This depends on the level of institutions and defense spending achieved by these developing countries.

Social Mobility and Horizontal Inequality

Research on social mobility has paid considerable attention to links with inequality. The vast majority of this work, however, has focused on ‘vertical’ inequality between individuals or households, rather than ‘horizontal’ inequality between groups in society. This chapter speaks to the latter, with focus on the persistence over time of horizontal inequalities between ethnic and culturally defined groups. Not only is such persistence due to low intergenerational mobility overall, we argue, it also is due to lower mobility for disadvantaged as compared with advantaged groups in many societies. Group-based discrimination, among other factors, contributes. We posit further that the relationship between low mobility and persistent horizontal inequality is a comparatively larger problem for Global South as compared to Global North countries, because they are, on average, contexts with lower intergenerational mobility, higher horizontal inequality, and weaker state capability and the rule of law.

Secessionist conflict as diversion from inequality: The missing link between grievance and repression

Why do some secessionist claims turn violent and others stay peaceful? This study elucidates the role of inequality and diversionary tactics of states in secessionist violence. Horizontal inequality increases the grievances of minorities and fuels rebellion. States with high vertical inequality prefer to suppress peripheries instead of increasing redistribution and alleviating their material grievances. States shun redistributing toward peripheral regions because sharing with one group prompts demands for redistribution among other groups, including the dominant group. Fearing resource reallocation at the national scale and potential loss of their elevated social status, the elites opt for violent solutions for secessionist crises. Using a new dataset on self-determination movements I test these conjectures and find strong support for them.

Climate and cohesion: The effects of droughts on intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic trust

While a large body of research has highlighted the conflict-inducing effects of climate change, we still know very little about the mechanisms linking environmental conditions to violent conflict. This article investigates the plausibility of a prominent channel according to which scarcity of natural resources can foster violent conflict through deteriorating intergroup relations. In addition to assessing the direct effects of adverse environmental conditions on intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic trust, we suggest a conditional argument on the role of horizontal inequality of hazard exposure. Environmental hazards are ‘unequal’ if they systematically affect ethnic groups differently. While inequality may reinforce intra-ethnic ties and out-group suspicion, equal hazard exposure may create a sense of unity among diverse victims in their collective struggle to cope with harsh environmental conditions. We test these arguments in the context of the severe drought periods that affected most East African countries in the years 2004 and 2005. The empirical analysis combines gridded information on drought severity with geo-located survey data across six countries in the region (Afrobarometer survey 2005/2006). Our main analyses find that exposure to drought hazards correlates positively with self-reported trust within and across ethnic groups. The latter association, however, depends on the degree of intergroup equality of hazard exposure and wanes as inequality increases. Taken together, these findings indicate that if droughts increase the risk of violent conflict, they seem to do so through mechanisms other than intergroup polarization and despite their positive association with ethnic trust. This is most likely the case in contexts where there is pronounced horizontal inequality of drought hazards.

Income inequality and conflicts: A Gini decomposition analysis

There has been little research examining how income inequality may or may not contribute to the “grievance” aspect of conflict. For the most part, the measure used is the traditional Gini index, which is suitable to reflect vertical inequality (VI) rather than horizontal inequality (HI). Calculating HI requires the ability to decompose inequality indices, especially the Gini index, into a within-subgroup component and a between-subgroup component. There exists a long-standing stream of literature discussing how to decompose the Gini index. This article discusses the shortcomings of existing Gini decomposition methods and proposes a novel method that divides the Gini index into within-subgroup and across-subgroup components. This novel method is then applied to the case of Thailand in the years 2009–2017. The differences in the two components derived from the method of this article and those of existing methods are large. In addition, the HI measure this article introduces is also large relative to non-Gini measures such as the Theil and Shorrocks indices. Therefore conflict-related papers that include an existing Gini decomposition and HI measure among their independent variables may wish to test their models with those of this article and other measures—to examine if the results are consistent and to mitigate a risk of misleading policymakers.

Income-related inequities of adult obesity and central obesity in China: evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey 1997–2011

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to analyse the status regarding inequities in adult obesity and central obesity in China. Thus, income-related inequality for both diseases and the underlying factors were examined.Methods and designThe China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)—conducted from 1997 to 2011—included 128 307 participants; in this study, 79 566 individuals classified as obese and 65 250 regarded as suffering from central obesity according to the CHNS were analysed. A body mass index greater than 27 was considered indicative of obesity; men and women with a waist circumference of more than 102 cm and 80 cm, respectively, were considered as suffering from central obesity. The concentration index was employed to analyse inequality in adult obesity and central obesity. The decomposition of this index based on a probit model was used to calculate the horizontal inequality index.ResultsThe prevalence of adult obesity increased from 8.34% in 1997 to 17.74% in 2011, and that of central obesity increased from 6.52% in 1997 to 16.79% in 2011. The horizontal inequality index for adult obesity decreased from 0.1377 in 1997 to 0.0164 in 2011; for central obesity, it decreased from 0.0806 in 1997 to −0.0193 in 2011. The main causes of inequality for both diseases are, among others, economic status, marital status and educational attainment.ConclusionsFrom 1997 to 2011, the prevalence of adult obesity and central obesity increased annually. The pro-rich inequalities in both adult and central obesity decreased from 1997 to 2011. The inequality in central obesity was more prominent in the low-income group in 2011. Future policies may need to address obesity reduction among the poor.

Dental Expenditure, Progressivity and Horizontal Inequality in Chinese Adults：Based on the 4th National Oral Health Epidemiology Survey

Background: The financial burden of oral diseases is a growing concern as the medical expenses rise worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the dental expenditure, analyze its progressivity and horizontal inequality under the general health finance and insurance system, and identify the key social determinants of the inequality for Chinese adults. Methods: A secondary analysis used the data of 13,464 adults from the 4 th National Oral Health Epidemiological Survey (NOHES) in China was undertaken. The dental expenditure was collected and divided into out-of-pocket and health insurance payments. Horizontal inequality index and Kakwani index were used to analyze the horizontal inequality and progressivity, respectively. The decomposition model of the concentration index was set up to explore the associated socioeconomic determinants. Results: The results showed that a mean dental expenditure per capita of Chinese adults was $20.55 (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 18.83,22.26). Among those who actually used dental service, the cost was $100.95 (95%CI: 93.22,108.68). Over 90% of dental spending was due to out-of-pocket expenses. For self-reported oral health, the horizontal inequality index was -0.1391 and for the decayed tooth (DT), it was -0.2252. For out-of-pocket payment, the Kakwani index was -0.3154 and for health insurance payment it was -0.1598. Income, residential location, educational attainment, oral hygiene practice, self-reported oral health, age difference were the main contributors to the inequality of dental expenditure. Conclusion: Dental expenditure for Chinese adults was at a lower level due to underutilization. The ratio of payments of dental expenditure and utilization was disproportional, whether it was out-of-pocket or insurance payment. Individuals who were more in need of oral care showed less demand for service or not required service in time. For future policy making on oral health, it is worth the effort to further promote the awareness of the importance of oral health and utilization of dental service.