Search

Begin New Search Topic Income Distribution Publication Year within 10 Years

11. Economic Zones and Local Income Inequality: Evidence from Indonesia

Author:
Cecília Hornok and Sidan Raeskyesa
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:
Economic zones can be powerful drivers of economic growth in developing countries. However, less is known about their distributional impact on the local society. This paper provides empirical evidence from Indonesian provinces on the relationship between economic zones and within-province income inequality. Estimates from panel regressions and synthetic control case studies suggest that this relationship is positive overall. The estimated rise in income inequality after a zone opens is relatively small on average and may be short-lived. However, the average estimate masks large regional differences, which suggests that the inequality implications of economic zone policies depend on local conditions. One explanation for the rise in inequality is that the unskilled population benefits disproportionately less from the policy. As a remedy, we propose education and training programs that target the poor and unskilled and in which companies also actively participate.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Globalization, Economic Growth, and Income Distribution
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Asia, and Southeast Asia

12. Why do Preferences for Redistribution Differ Across Countries?

Author:
Gianluca Grimalda, Francesco Farina, Anna Conte, and Ulrich Schmidt
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:
We test for different theories purporting to explain cross-country differences in income redistribution through standardized experimental choices. US Americans and Italians demand less redistribution than Norwegians and Germans, regardless of whether self-interest is relevant. Those earning (or expecting to earn) below-median incomes behave as "libertarians" more frequently in the US and Italy than in Germany and Norway. Above-the-median earners behave similarly across countries. Higher overconfidence by US Americans and Italians further reduces their demand for redistribution under uncertainty. The "Prospect of Upward Mobility" hypothesis holds similarly in all countries. US Americans do not reward individual merit more than others.
Topic:
Economic Mobility, Redistribution, Income Distribution, and Behavioral Economics
Political Geography:
Europe, Italy, North America, and United States of America

13. Employment Gaps Between Refugees, Migrants and Natives: Evidence from Austrian Register Based Labour Market Data

Author:
Stefan Jestl, Michael Landesmann, Sebastian Leitner, and Barbara Wanek-Zajic
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)
Abstract:
This paper analyses labour market integration in Austria of non-European refugees originating from middle and low income countries for the period 2009-2018. We assess their probability of being employed in comparison to non-humanitarian migrants, European third country immigrants and natives. We draw on a register based panel dataset covering the complete labour market careers of all individuals residing in Austria. We control for macro level explanatory variables (e.g. the labour market situation at the time and the place of settlement) and individual characteristics. The analysis shows that initial refugee employment gaps are large in the first years when labour market access is difficult. After a period of seven years the unconditional gap between refugees and natives declines to 30 percentage points, similar to the one of non-humanitarian migrants, but the gap is still further decreasing. After controlling for a set of additional explanatory variables, the conditional gap amounts to only 10 percentage points at the same time. Moreover, our analysis provides insights into differences between employment gaps across population subgroups of immigrant groups and natives by gender, age and education level.
Topic:
Employment, Refugees, Labor Market, Migrants, and Income Distribution
Political Geography:
Europe and Austria

14. Factors Driving Wealth Inequality in European Countries

Author:
Sebastian Leitner
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)
Abstract:
This paper analyses how microeconomic factors drive inequality in household wealth across nine European countries when applying the Shapley value approach to decomposition. The research draws on micro data from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey 2014. Disparity in inheritance and gifts obtained by households are found to have a considerable effect on wealth inequality that is on average stronger than that of income differences and other factors. In Austria, Germany, France, Portugal and Spain, the contribution of real and financial assets received as bequests or inter vivos transfers attains more than 30% to explained wealth inequality. The distribution of household characteristics (age, education, size, number of adults and children in the household, marital status) within countries however also shapes the observed wealth dispersion. The results resemble those obtained in a similar study (Leitner, 2016) based on data from the first wave of the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS 2010).
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, European Union, Inequality, Wealth, Inheritance, and Income Distribution
Political Geography:
Europe