INCOME INEQUALITY,ECONOMIC GROWTH,AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME GAINS: EVIDENCE FROM THE U.S. STATES*

ABSTRACT This paper first investigates a relationship between economic growth and income inequality using U.S. states data, a state cost‐of‐living deflator, and nonlinearity. It then explores the distribution of income gains among different income groups. We find that the impact of inequality on growth is nonlinear. Lowering inequality or increasing it substantially reduces growth; thus stable inequality may be good for growth. Economic growth affects incomes of the poor, the middle‐income group, and the rich similarly with the elasticity of one. Education and labor market policies become important in promoting growth and improving income gains of the poor.     

Local Financial Institutions and Income Inequality: Evidence from Brazil's Credit Cooperative Movement

Local financial institutions can play a crucial role in reducing income inequalities at the within-country level by promoting inclusive economic growth and development across time and space. This is against a backdrop of increasing financial and economic fragility, to which emerging economies have also been exposed over more recent decades and years. This article adds emerging economy evidence from Brazil to an empirical literature on the income inequality implications of cooperative financial institutions. Panel-data estimations for 2004‒19 reveal that Brazilian credit cooperatives have gone beyond commercial banks in supporting communities that have traditionally been underserved financially. Additionally, the article provides new evidence and insights on credit cooperatives’ resilience in the context of a relatively recent but severe economic crisis in Brazil. The results indicate that credit cooperatives have helped fill gaps in finance and economic opportunity that tend to arise in an emerging economy setting. Furthermore, the contribution of credit cooperatives in filling these gaps is found to be more significant at lower levels of development. These findings add theoretical and, importantly, empirical support to the relationship channel of financial inclusion, which is in line with the optimistic perspective in this debate.     

A NOTE ON THE DIFFERENTIAL REGIONAL EFFECTS OF INCOME INEQUALITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE USING U.S. COUNTY‐LEVEL DATA

This note examines the correlation between income inequality and economic growth using a panel of income distribution data for 3,109 counties of the U.S. Using the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach, we find that for the entire sample of 3,109 counties, an increase in a county's level of inequality has a significant negative relationship with future economic growth. In reality, however, the magnitude, sign, and significance of this relationship is not necessarily uniform across all regions of the U.S., motivating the need to examine regional differentials in the relationship between inequality and growth. Consequently, we split our dataset into metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties, into the eight Bureau of Economic Analysis regions, and into regions of different political affiliation and economic‐dependence typology. Our results show considerable heterogeneity in the relationship between inequality and growth across these regions.     

Political Economy of Income Distribution: A Comparative Study of Taiwan and Mexico

Both Taiwan and Mexico have experienced remarkable economic growth since the 1960s. Taiwan demonstrates that higher income level can be accompanied by falling income inequalities. However, unlike Taiwan, the course of economic growth in Mexico has left the country with a very unequal distribution of income. This paper compares the government policies of income distribution in Mexico and Taiwan and identifies the factors contributing to the success of Taiwan and to the highly uneven income distribution in Mexico. The paper concludes that market-oriented growth does not automatically reduce inequality or poverty. The prospects for better income equity and sustainable economic development would be greatly enhanced through implementation of policies aimed at redistributing land and skills, facilitating small enterprises, and increasing domestic saving.     

Dimensions and dynamics of residential segregation by income in urban Canada, 1991–1996

This paper examines the trends in residential segregation by income (post-transfer, pretax income) in the thirty-nine largest Canadian urban areas between 1991 and 1996. The study is motivated by the relative lack of attention paid to residential segregation by income in the Canadian context and by conceptual arguments linking compromised life chances and increased social tensions for the populations of highly segregated cities. We investigated several dimensions of segregation using five different measures (we focus on three of these here given the correlation structure of the measures) to examine changes in segregation between 1991 and 1996, a period characterised by economic recession, cutbacks in social programs and a widening of inequality in market incomes at the national scale. Overall, income segregation increased in most urban areas across all dimensions of segregation during the time period, with particularly high degrees of segregation observed in prairie cities (Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Regina). Of the three largest metropolitan areas (Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal), Montréal was the most consistently segregated. We also find that increases in spatial separation and spatial concentration by income occurred despite the fact that at the national scale, the tax and transfer system appeared to be adequately redressing a rise in inequality in labour and market incomes (as demonstrated by the lack of change in post-transfer national income inequality measures during a period when inequality in market and labour incomes rose sharply). This implies that the lived experience of changes in income distribution are unlikely fully captured by aspatial, national-scale measures and that intra-urban measures with a spatial dimension are an important indicators of inequality in Canadian society.     

城市高收入阶层生活方式与生活意识调查研究

随着改革开放和经济发展,中国城市居民中已经出现高收入阶层。本文运用社会调查方法,对大城市高收入阶层的生活方式和生活意识进行研究。从调查样本的工作观、社会观、未来观分析高收入阶层的价值观和生活意识,消费、投资以及保障意识,并进一步划分价值观的类型。     

中国城市贫困的基本特点与脱贫模式探讨

本文通过城市贫困家庭的收入情况、消费情况、社交情况以及城市贫困的社区分布分析中国城市贫困的基本特点。提出三条形成城市贫困的相互影响的机制链条,即由于产业结构调整和经济体制的转轨、社会保障不完善和政府财政实力较弱以及人力资本偏低和市场需求高三方面引发城市贫困。并构建了城市贫困脱贫模式,分析了脱贫过程以及将"内外结合、标本兼治"作为脱贫模式的核心。得出了四个解决措施:一是加强政府反贫困建设,完善社会保障体系;二是提高贫困主体自身素质,强化脱贫意识;三是积极推进再就业工作,完善再就业服务;四是发展非政府组织的扶贫事业,拓宽救助渠道。     

城市空间重构进程中的土地利用冲突研究——以广州市为例

目前,城市空间重构所孳生的土地利用冲突现象已成为当前我国快速城市化进程中迫切需要解决的重要问题之一,获得了学术界、地方政府和社会大众的高度重视,而对土地利用冲突的类型和影响因素的探讨构成了后续治理途径研究的根本前提。本文基于城市政治经济学理论中社会空间辩证统一的视角,以广州市为例,选取了我国快速城市化进程中广泛存在的旧城更新、工业用地置换和城中村改造等城市空间重构的重点领域为研究对象,总结了土地利用冲突的类型及其影响因素,证实了空间调整与社会变迁之间的辩证统一关系。     

城市居民环城游憩距离选择的实证研究——以长沙市为例

本文通过抽样调查所获取基础数据,对城市居民环城游憩距离选择进行了实证研究,发现城市居民环城游憩活动并不完全符合距离衰减规律,而是存在出游理想距离。理想距离范围内是城市居民到访率最高的区域,形成环城游憩密集带。通过理想距离与游客性别、年龄、收入、文化程度、职业等交叉列联表分析,得出城市居民出游理想距离选择的差异性。在此基础上,本文探讨了城市居民环城游憩活动理想距离的形成机理,认为这是在各种因素共同影响下,在三大作用力系统——推动力系统、阻碍力系统、交互力系统相互作用下的一种均衡结果。     

On hunger and child mortality in India

Despite accelerated growth there is pervasive hunger, child undernutrition and mortality in India. Our analysis focuses on their determinants. Raising living standards alone will not reduce hunger and undernutrition. Reduction of rural/urban disparities, income inequality, consumer price stabilization, and mothers’ literacy all have roles of varying importance in different nutrition indicators. Somewhat surprisingly, public distribution system (PDS) do not have a significant effect on any of them. Generally, child undernutrition and mortality rise with poverty. Our analysis confirms that media exposure triggers public action, and helps avert child undernutrition and mortality. Drastic reduction of economic inequality is in fact key to averting child mortality, conditional upon a drastic reordering of social and economic arrangements.     

INEQUALITY IN CITIES*

ABSTRACT Much of the inequality literature has focused on national inequality, but local inequality is also important. Crime rates are higher in more unequal cities; people in unequal cities are more likely to say that they are unhappy. There is a negative association between local inequality and the growth of city‐level income and population, once we control for the initial distribution of skills. High levels of mobility across cities mean that city‐level inequality should not be studied with the same analytical tools used to understand national inequality, and policy approaches need to reflect the urban context. Urban inequality reflects the choices of more and less skilled people to live together in particular areas. City‐level skill inequality can explain about one‐third of the variation in city‐level income inequality, while skill inequality is itself explained by historical schooling patterns and immigration. Local income also reflects the substantial differences in the returns to skill across, which are related to local industrial patterns.     

基于精明发展的城市扩张与土地利用效益的耦合研究——以济南市主城区为例

精明发展已成为国际化城市发展的主流。在精明发展理论的指导下，以区域中心城市济南为例，选取城市扩张与土地利用效益两个子系统，从空间形态、发展效率、外部影响、用地结构、人口变化、经济规模、公共服务和综合建设八个维度，测度济南市主城区城市扩张与土地利用效益的耦合协调关系。结果表明：①济南市城市扩张阶段性特征明显，扩张模式从单核心向多核心转变；②济南市土地利用效益总体水平较低，但其发展符合“低速-高速-平稳”的变化过程，且近年来呈持续优化趋势；③济南市城市扩张与土地利用效益不符合精明发展要求，城市扩张对土地利用效益的促进作用不足，二者间耦合协调度不高。     

中国城市密集区航空运输联系研究

城市密集区间的航空运输联系导致城市间的内聚效应和空间互动。城市密集区间的航空运输联系具有明显方向性。京津唐、长江三角洲和珠江三角洲城市密集区间航空运输联系密切,国家级大都市与国家级大都市(区域性大都市)间联系具有普遍性,而与地方性城市中心间航空运输联系具有特殊性。长江三角洲、珠江三角洲和京津唐城市密集区等为人流与信息流联系密切的、以辐射为主的航空中心;辽宁中南部城市密集区为航空运输联系欠密切的、人流辐射与信息流集聚中心;四川盆地城市密集区为航空运输联系欠密切的、人流集聚与信息流辐射中心。     

Causes and Consequences of Inequality in Egypt

This study presents an analysis of various facets of inequality in Egypt using a political economy approach to understand how inequalities are reproduced in the Egyptian economy. It examines the drivers of income and wealth inequality, and the impact of uneven taxation. The paper highlights how the mismeasurement of top incomes can skew the measurement of inequality, and shows how Egypt has one of the biggest wealth gaps in the world. It investigates educational, gender, and healthcare inequalities and how they are reproduced across generations. The paper also highlights the disparity between urban and rural areas, which further contributes to inequality. It assesses why economic growth in Egypt has had limited success in reducing poverty and inequality, and analyzes how state and military interference in markets hampers the growth of the private sector. The paper concludes by examining how inequality, combined with a number of challenges that Egypt is facing, including increased authoritarianism, climate change, demographic pressures, and water security will likely exacerbate many of the country’s socioeconomic and political problems. Overall, the study argues that inequality remains a key concern that, if left unaddressed, may lead to social unrest and instability in the long term.     

基于游憩者感知的重庆都市区游憩空间品质评价

以重庆都市区城市游憩空间系统为例,将凯文·林奇的5类城市意象要素进行细分,并转换为地点场所-具体的游憩空间,以访谈与问卷相结合的调查方式,运用统计学的基本理论与方法以及SPSS软件,从印象程度、品质较好和品质较差这三个方面对游憩空间进行定量评价研究,制成城市游憩空间评价指数的象限分布图,以了解游憩者印象与游憩空间品质之间的相互关系,从而为重庆城市游憩空间的规划设计与建设提供有益的参考。     

基于面板模型的城市居民国内旅游消费实证分析

本文通过整理面板数据并构建面板模型,分别以出游率、人均旅游花费与旅游购买力衡量旅游消费,引入虚拟变量区分收入水平与SARS危机的影响,从而揭示了收入对城市居民国内旅游消费的决定作用。模型估计结果表明：第一、对不同的旅游消费指标,收入的决定作用存在差异,其中,旅游购买力与出游率的收入弹性远大于人均旅游花费的收入弹性;第二、与低收入城市居民相比较,高收入城市居民国内旅游的出游率收入弹性减小,人均旅游花费收入弹性增大;第三、SARS对高收入城市居民国内旅游消费的负面影响更大。最后,根据面板数据的描述性统计结果与模型估计结果,从供给角度,建议在全国层次注重发展观光旅游,在旅游目的地层次注重细分目标市场。     

Beyond Kuznets: Inequality and the size and distribution of cities

As countries develop the percentage of population living in urban areas tends to increase. As this happens, inequality is expected first to increase and then to decline in what is known as the Kuznets inverted‐U. But the literature has not paid much attention to differences in the absolute size of cities potentially affecting economy‐wide inequality. Building on insights from the urban economics literature, this paper studies the relationship between the size and distribution of cities and income inequality at country level. Results show that beyond Kuznets’ hypothesis there is a U‐shaped relationship between average city size and inequality; inequality first falls and then increases with average city size. This result is robust to a long list of controls, different estimation techniques, and identification strategies.     

南京城市扩展与其空间增长管理的研究

城市的空间扩展是城市化发展的直接体现,透过对城市扩展的分析研究,可以加深对城市化本质的理解,并可为城市可持续发展提供有效的空间决策资讯。本文选取南京城市扩展作为分析的具体案例,在充分认识和剖析自然景观、区域经济及城市用地结构特征等条件基础上,揭示了南京城市扩展的空间动态过程及其诱导性因子。基于对城市总体规划的概念性理解,论文概括了南京城市空间增长的基本管理措施:即,外围总体控制--框定主城区;主城内部空间的分片管理-结构优化;区域层面的都市发展区空间组织-外围空间引导。     

Metropolitan Income Inequality During the 1980s: The Impact of Urban Development, Industrial Mix, and Family Structure

The empirical analysis in this paper explores the interurban variation in family income distribution. The results point to increasing urban development, rising female-headship, a widening educational distribution, and changes in the industrial and occupational mix as major contributing factors to rising inequality. However, the increase in the relative number of multiple worker families was a significant mitigating force to rising inequality. A decomposition of 1979 and 1989 cross-sectional models revealed that while changes in urban family and industrial characteristics have been sources of rising inequality, there has been significant structural change in the urban models acting to decrease inequality.     

中国城乡居民收入差距的省区间比较分析

中国城乡居民收入差距问题早已存在,但目前对城乡居民收入差距的研究大都是从全国的角度出发,从省区的角度进行的定量对比研究很少。而现实中省区间的城乡居民收入差距却存在着明显的差别,这种差别对于我们进行具体的成因分析以及因地制宜地制定城乡居民收入政策具有重要的意义。为此,本文利用1978- 2000年各省区城乡居民收入统计资料,采用回归分析和相关性分析的方法,从空间分布和时间序列变化两个方面对省区间的城乡居民收入差距进行了初步研究,揭示了城乡居民收入差距由东向西逐渐扩大的空间布局以及时间序列变化上的不同步性,同时,还对形成这种空间不平衡和时间变化不同步的原因进行了初步探讨,为进一步的成因分析及城乡政策的制定奠定基础。