Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Economic Policy Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Selected Works

Inequality

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Economic Policy

Life Is Unfair In Latin America, But Does It Matter For Growth?, Luisa Blanco Sep 2015

Life Is Unfair In Latin America, But Does It Matter For Growth?, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

I analyze the effect of inequality on economic growth in Latin America, where inequality is measured as the area of family farms as a percentage of the total area of agricultural holdings. Using data from 18 Latin American countries between 1960 and 2004, I find that inequality has a nonlinear effect on economic growth. Overall, for the countries included in this analysis, the share of family farms has a positive significant effect on economic growth. These findings are robust to controlling for several factors, using a different indicator of inequality (land Gini), and addressing for endogeneity.

Go to article

Home Prices And Inequality: Singapore Versus Other 'Global Superstar Cities', S Y Phang Apr 2015

Home Prices And Inequality: Singapore Versus Other 'Global Superstar Cities', S Y Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Superstar Cities, Inequality And Housing Policy, S Y Phang Mar 2015

Superstar Cities, Inequality And Housing Policy, S Y Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

Income and wealth inequality have been constantly debated, especially in recent years. Most studies, such as the recent work by Thomas Piketty, compare inequality across countries and over time. National inequality measures, however, mask considerable variations across cities within the same country. A country’s biggest and most economically dynamic cities also tend to have the largest inequality gaps. These cities – what Joseph Gyourko calls “Superstar Cities” – are also distinguished by their high housing prices. Migration in and out of cities limits the extent to which Superstar Cities can use local redistributive policies (including housing policies) to reduce inequality. …

Go to article

Nine Out Of Ten. The "Losers" In Italy's Long Crisis. Changes In Income Distribution, Effects Of Policies, Rise In Inequality, Mario Pianta Dec 2011

Nine Out Of Ten. The "Losers" In Italy's Long Crisis. Changes In Income Distribution, Effects Of Policies, Rise In Inequality, Mario Pianta

Mario Pianta

In the analysis of inequality in advanced countries it is often argued that the wide array of changes in economic activities, labour markets and public policies result in a complex picture of changes in individual incomes that escape any general interpretation. In this paper the available data on the functional and personal distribution of income are examined and the results of the literature are surveyed providing an interpretation of developments in inequality in Italy, compared to other European countries. The argument is that there is strong evidence that most benefits of the (modest) economic growth of the last decade have …

Go to article

Economic Writing On The Pressing Problems Of The Day: The Roles Of Moral Intuition And Methodological Confusion, Julie A. Nelson Nov 2010

Economic Writing On The Pressing Problems Of The Day: The Roles Of Moral Intuition And Methodological Confusion, Julie A. Nelson

Julie A. Nelson

Economists are often called on to help address pressing problems of the day, yet many economists are uncomfortable about disclosing the values that they bring to this work. This essay explores how an inadequate understanding of the role of methodology, as related to ethics and human emotions of concern, underlies this reluctance and compromises the quality of economic advice. The tension between caring about the problems, on the one hand, and writing within the existing culture of the discipline, on the other, are illustrated with examples from U.S. policymaking, behavioral economics, and the economics of climate change and global poverty. …

Go to article

Forces Of Inequality? The Impact Of Technology And Globalisation, Mario Pianta, Leopoldo Nascia Dec 2008

Forces Of Inequality? The Impact Of Technology And Globalisation, Mario Pianta, Leopoldo Nascia

Mario Pianta

In searching for the causes of the general increase of inequality in Europe over the past two decades, technological change and increasing international integration are major forces that need to be investigated. While they have affected the overall changes in economic structures with complex – direct and indirect – influences on income distribution, we focus here on their specific impact on three issues: a) inequalities between profits and wages; b) the polarisation of employment by professional skills; c) wage polarisation.

Go to article

Guest Editors' Introduction For Special Issue On "Inequality: Mechanisms And Effects", Mario Pianta, Maurizio Franzini Dec 2008

Guest Editors' Introduction For Special Issue On "Inequality: Mechanisms And Effects", Mario Pianta, Maurizio Franzini

Mario Pianta

Inequality is a multidimensional phenomenon involving both economic and social processes, and regulated by a variety of political processes and policies. Measures of economic inequality, in terms of income and wealth, however, provide an effective picture of broad patterns of inequality. Between the end of the 1970’s and mid-2000’s, such indicators have documented a general growth in inequalities within and between countries, highlighting a major aspect of economic development over that period.

Go to article

Innovation And Wage Polarisation In Europe, Mario Pianta, Elisabetta Croci Angelini, Francesco Farina Dec 2008

Innovation And Wage Polarisation In Europe, Mario Pianta, Elisabetta Croci Angelini, Francesco Farina

Mario Pianta

In this article we improve on the literature dealing with the polarising effects of technological change on wages by proposing more rigorous definitions of wage dispersion within industries and of the different types and effects of innovation. We carry out an analysis across 10 manufacturing and service sectors in seven European countries (France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK), for two time periods. In addition to structural economic variables, we draw data from two waves of the Community Innovation Surveys (CIS 2, 1994–1996 and CIS3, 1998–2000) and from two waves of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP, …

Go to article

Innovations, Profits And Wages, Mario Pianta, Massimiliano Tancioni Dec 2007

Innovations, Profits And Wages, Mario Pianta, Massimiliano Tancioni

Mario Pianta

This paper investigates the dynamics of wages and profits and the influence innovation strategies have on them. The relationships between innovation, productivity, and distribution are modeled and estimated by employing panel data techniques. Two European innovation surveys (1994–96 and 1998–2000) are used with data at both the country and industry levels. Innovation is found to have positive effects on income dynamics beyond the role it has on productivity gains; it may weaken the distribution constraint posed by the competition between profits and wages. Profits are driven by both the Schumpeterian effects of new products and the diffusion effects of new …

Go to article