This paper examines if increased microfinance intensity reduces the income inequality in 11 Latin American countries from 2005 to 2015. Gini coefficient was used as a measure of income inequality, while microfinance intensity was derived by dividing the number of active borrowers by the country's population. A panel data was constructed with 384 microfinance institutes present in the countries studied. To examine the relationship, a pooled OLS and a country clustered fixed-effects model was conducted using the specific-to-general method. Both methods showed a significant negative relationship between the Gini coefficient and microfinance intensity. However, it was a relatively small impact at -0.004% for every percent increase in microfinance, which confirms our hypothesis that a higher MFI participation leads to a decrease in income inequality. These results are in line with previous studies conducted, although, to our knowledge, this is the first macroeconomic framework study conducted on multiple Latin American countries at once.

This thesis investigates the effect of foreign aid on income inequality, and studies the impact in Latin America during the time period from 1960 to 2020. The method employed is a pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) model, using fixed effects. The results imply that foreign aid increases income inequality. The theoretical literature on this topic focus mostly on foreign aid’s effect on economic growth, and growth is thought to lessen income inequality. Aid is on the other hand considered to raise income inequality due to misappropriation of aid by the political and local elite in recipient countries. Negative impacts of aid are also viewed as the result of low accountability of both donors and recipients of aid. Empirical studies examining the impact of foreign aid on income inequality are furthermore scarce compared to aid’s impact on economic growth, and the results of existing studies are inconclusive, where most discover either weak positive or negative effects.

Abstracts Does post-industrialized countries face a second Kuznets curve with the IT revolution? By: Rickard Sandqvist, Supervisor: Ulf Jansson, Urban and regional planning, advanced level, Master thesis for master exam in Urban and regional planning, 30 ECTS credits, Language: English, Key words: recent income inequality trends, the creative class, kuznets hypothesis and theories of income inequality, income inequality with the IT revolution in post-industrialized countries, SURE estimation, OLS estimation, income inequality measures.  The aim of the thesis is to analyze the development of income inequality for countries that have longer time series available. I use theories and hypothesises of income inequality and do some development of Kuznets hypothesis. My research question is: does post-industrialized countries face a second Kuznets curve with the IT revolution? I use OLS (ordinary least square) and SURE (seemingly unrelated regression equation) estimations to answer my research question. I use data from the world bank and I analyze data from mainly countries in europe and north and south america. My results is that there is evidence that post industrialised countries face a second Kuznets curve and I do the conclusion that this is depending on the IT revolution.

This study uses data between 2011 and 2020 from the 290 municipalities of Sweden to investigate theeffect that covid-19 has had on income inequality. Excess mortality rate is used as the variablemeasuring the intensity of the pandemic and the Gini coefficient as well as percentile quotas representsincome inequality. Using a Difference in Difference approach, a positive effect on income inequalitywas found using percentile quotas. A unit increase in excess mortality corresponds to an increase inP90P10 with up to 1,1%. It was also found that mainly the low income group of people were the mostaffected.

The issue of income equality has become of great concern on a global scale. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, economists and other socioeconomic analysts have observed the state of the income and wealth gap between the top ten percent rich and the lower forty percent poor of populations, and its far-reaching impact on the lives of ordinary people. Income inequality has become a global challenge and the effects are felt in both developed and developing countries. The socioeconomic disparity between the rich and poor is pronounced in developing countries, and recent trends of growing inequality are being observed in developed countries. This research examines the effect of education on income inequality and GDP per capita, using a panel dataset of 18 selected sub-Saharan countries for the period from 1994 to 2015. The panel models are estimated, using the fixed effects, random effects and generalised methods of moments estimation techniques. The results show that the relationship of education and its impact on income inequality is dependent on the level of education being assessed. High resource input in tertiary education increases income inequality, while high resource input in lower educational levels reduces income inequality. Overall, increases in government expenditure on education lead to increase in inequality and a fall in GDP per capita. These results show possible inefficiencies in the allocation of educational resources in sub-Saharan countries during the period of investigation. Government spending on education does not reduce inequality or boost income unless it is done efficiently. To reduce income inequality and increase average income, educational resources must be efficiently allocated with priority given to the educational levels of the highest proportions of the population.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第20654号 / 経博第554号 / 新制||経||282(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 小佐野 広, 教授 柴田 章久, 准教授 敦賀 貴之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

This paper empirically examines the effect of income inequality on economic growth in a sample of 69 high income economies. It uses an improved inequality dataset developed by the World Institute for Development Economics Research and panel estimation techniques in an ordinary least squares regression. The results provide robust empirical evidence that rising levels of income inequality have adverse effects on growth in high income countries and indicate that, on average, a one standard deviation increase in income inequality will decrease growth by 67.91%. Results from the regression also suggest increases in human capital and international openness, decreases in the government consumption ratio, and more favorable terms of trade promote growth while higher initial per capita GDP and higher levels of investment retard growth.

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This thesis explores lobbying as an important political economy dimension of policymaking. It exploits theoretical, empirical, and numerical approaches and methods to investigate the possibilities of engaging in costly lobbying and how lobbying by special interests affects the setting of minimum wage and small business tax rates. The theoretical modeling relies on the common agency framework - a situation with multiple principals who are simultaneously and non-cooperatively interacting with a single agent - of public policy lobbying and a simpler principal agent model. Empirical analysis employs panel data regression methods in the context of Canadian provinces to identify causal relationship. Both minimum wage and small business taxation invite a considerable amount of activity from various special interest groups in Canada, which engage in lobbying for a policy stance more favorable to their members. After providing a brief overview of lobbying issues and literature in the first chapter, in the second one I show that initial lobbying cost can be a clear entry barrier, that lobbying competition can have properties of a high-stakes game and that lobbying can take place simply to preserve the status quo and not lose ground. In the pure rivalry sense, to not allow the opponent to gain ground in the policy arena. In the third chapter, I formulate a model of minimum wage determination based on the common agency lobbying framework to evaluate how the competition for political influence between unionized workers and firm owners affects the minimum wage determination. A binding minimum wage is a function of the policymaker's political ideology, the labor demand elasticity and the skill composition of union members. Specifically, when the elasticity of labor demand is large, the benefit of lobbying against (for) an increase in the minimum wage is greater since a potential minimum wage increase has a larger negative (positive) effect on firms' (unionized workers') income. Lobbying is successful in inducing the policymaker to set the minimum wage in accordance with her political preference; a more business (labor) friendly policymaker reduces (increases) the minimum wage. However, lobbying can also induce the policymaker to go against its ideological preference. Empirical analysis on a panel data for ten Canadian provinces over the 1965-2013 period gives considerable support for theoretical predictions. Preferred panel data regression specifications, controlling for unobserved province and year effects, and various province specific, time varying factors, indicate that real minimum wage decreases in skill-adjusted union density and a measure of political ideology, and increases with technological progress. Greater labor demand elasticity reinforces the influence of political ideology in the presence of lobbying. In the fourth chapter, I focus on the issue of small business tax determination and the effect of lowering its rate on income inequality. In Canada, where the small business income tax rate is considerably lower than the top individual rate, higher income individuals are able to reduce their personal taxes by retaining and shifting income via privately owned small businesses. Therefore, because the small business owners benefit from an increasing difference between the small business and top individual tax rates, I show using a principal-agent model that by lobbying as a special interest group they can always `buy' a lower corporate tax rate from the government. However, a lower business income tax, relative to a given personal income tax rate, is not income inequality neutral and unambiguously increases the income share of the highest earning individuals in the economy, specifically those who own small corporations. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This paper aims to explain how new technology impacts the labor market and to what extent it substitutes for labor. In addition, the relationship between new technology and income distribution will be examined. The analysis is based on an extensive literature survey and an empirical analysis covering 10 OECD countries over an eight year period. Advanced economies were chosen because according to recent research, they are likely to be most affected by rapid technological development. By implementing panel data and a fixed effect estimation technique, it is shown that ICT-investments are positively correlated with unemployment while no effect was found with regard to inequality.