This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Economic Development, Urban Underemployment, and Income Inequality

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
James E. Rauch

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The evolution of income inequality during the course of economic development is investigated. The source of inequality is market luck in obtaining employment in the protected urban 'formal sector'versus employment in the unprotected urban 'informal sector.' It is shown that with development, inequality tends to follow an 'inverted U.'It rises when urbanization is low and consequent pressure on the land keeps rural incomes low, making agents willing to incur high risks of 'underemployment'in the urban informal sector. It eventually falls after urbanization and consequently rural incomes have increased sufficiently to allow agents to make better than even bets in the urban-industrial sector.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0008-4085%28199311%2926%3A4%3C901%3AEDUUAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: only available to JSTOR subscribers

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Canadian Economics Association in its journal Canadian Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 26 (1993)
Issue (Month): 4 (November)
Pages: 901-18
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:26:y:1993:i:4:p:901-18

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Canadian Economics Association Prof. Steven Ambler, Secretary-Treasurer c/o Olivier Lebert, CEA/CJE/CPP Office C.P. 35006, 1221 Fleury Est Montréal, Québec, Canada H2C 3K4
Email:
Web page: http://economics.ca/cje/
More information through EDIRC

Order Information:
Email:
Web: http://economics.ca/en/membership.php

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Prof. Werner Antweiler).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Banerjee, Biswajit, 1983. "The Role of the Informal Sector in the Migration Process: A Test of Probabilistic Migration Models and Labour Market Segmentation for India," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 399-422, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Fields, Gary S, 1979. "A Welfare Economic Approach to Growth and Distribution in the Dual Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 325-53, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Papanek, Gustav F. & Kyn, Oldrich, 1986. "The effect on income distribution of development, the growth rate and economic strategy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 55-65, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Greenwood, Jeremy & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1990. "Financial Development, Growth, and the Distribution of Income," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 1076-1107, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Knight, J B, 1976. "Explaining Income Distribution in Less Developed Countries: A Framework and an Agenda," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 38(3), pages 161-77, August.
  6. Braulke, Michael, 1983. "A Note on Kuznets' U," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(1), pages 135-39, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Moore, Robert E., 1990. "Measuring inequality change in an economy with income growth : Reassessment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 205-210, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1979. "An Equilibrium Theory of the Distribution of Income and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1153-89, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Robinson, Sherman, 1976. "A Note on the U Hypothesis Relating Income Inequality and Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(3), pages 437-40, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Jonathan Eaton, 1987. "A Dynamic Specific-Factors Model of International Trade," NBER Working Papers 1479, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Tidrick, Gene M, 1975. " Wage Spillover and Unemployment in a Wage-Gap Economy: The Jamaican Case," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(2), pages 306-24, January.
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Titas Kumar Bandopadhyay, 2007. "Trade Reform, Capital Mobility, and Efficiency Wage in a Harris-Todaro Economy," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 46(2), pages 163-174. [Downloadable!]
  2. Jonathan Temple, 2002. "Wage Inequality in a Dual Economy," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 02/531, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK. [Downloadable!]
  3. Nicole Madariaga & Sylvie Montout & Patrice Ollivaud, 2004. "Regional convergence, trade liberalization and agglomeration of activities : an analysis of NAFTA and MERCOSUR cases," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques bla04069, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1). [Downloadable!]
  4. Lewis S. Davis, 2004. "Explaining the Evidence on Inequality and Growth: Informality and Redistribution," DEGIT Conference Papers c009_032, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade. [Downloadable!]
  5. Valerie R. Bencivenga & Bruce D. Smith, 1995. "Unemployment, migration, and growth," Working Papers 561, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Lall, Somik V. & Selod, Harris & Shalizi, Zmarak, 2006. "Rural-urban migration in developing countries : a survey of theoretical predictions and empirical findings," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3915, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You too can volunteer for RePEc, for example by encouraging others to register as authors.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-25.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.