IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i6p2234-d1352790.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards Social Justice: Investigating the Role of Labor, Globalization, and Governance in Reducing Socio-Economic Inequality within Post-Communist Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Tamara Maria Nae

    (Department of Economics and Economic Policy, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania
    Research and Analysis Department, Ministry of Finance, 050706 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Margareta-Stela Florescu

    (Department of Administration and Public Management, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Gabriela-Ioana Bălășoiu

    (Faculty of International Economic Relations, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

In the midst of contemporary global challenges, including the repercussions of the pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and transitional shifts, a notable surge in attention toward income inequality has materialized, garnering significant focus from both national and international entities. The urgency surrounding this issue is amplified by the imperative need for economic sustainability, recognizing poverty and inequalities as fundamental global security threats. Particularly within Europe, the persistent disparities in living standards, evident across and within countries, serve as potent indicators of enduring poverty and inequality. These concerns underscore potential barriers to the European Union’s pursuit of convergence and cohesion, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which prioritize addressing poverty (SDG 1) and reducing inequalities (SDG 10) for sustainable development. This study aims to scrutinize the dynamics of income inequality, concentrating on post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Employing panel data analysis, the research identifies and tests variables influencing income inequality in the region, specifically emphasizing labor market structures, globalization, economic development, and governance mechanisms, which hold particular relevance for the region’s context. The primary findings underscore the potential impact of enhancing these sectors in mitigating income inequality within the specified region. These insights provide a foundation for informed policy-making, presenting opportunities to address and mitigate inequalities effectively. They pave the way for fostering pathways toward greater equality and equitable socio-economic development within post-communist nations, ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Suggested Citation

  • Tamara Maria Nae & Margareta-Stela Florescu & Gabriela-Ioana Bălășoiu, 2024. "Towards Social Justice: Investigating the Role of Labor, Globalization, and Governance in Reducing Socio-Economic Inequality within Post-Communist Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-16, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:6:p:2234-:d:1352790
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/6/2234/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/6/2234/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ximing Wu & Jeffrey M. Perloff & Amos Golan, 2006. "Effects Of Government Policies On Urban And Rural Income Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 52(2), pages 213-235, June.
    2. Jesse M. Shapiro, 2006. "Smart Cities: Quality of Life, Productivity, and the Growth Effects of Human Capital," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 324-335, May.
    3. Giray Gozgor & Priya Ranjan, 2017. "Globalisation, inequality and redistribution: Theory and evidence," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(12), pages 2704-2751, December.
    4. Leandro Medina & Mr. Friedrich Schneider, 2018. "Shadow Economies Around the World: What Did We Learn Over the Last 20 Years?," IMF Working Papers 2018/017, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Vassilis Tselios, 2009. "Education And Income Inequality In The Regions Of The European Union," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 411-437, August.
    6. Verónica AMARANTE & Rodrigo ARIM, 2023. "Inequality and informality revisited: The Latin American case," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(3), pages 431-457, September.
    7. Josip Tica & Tomislav Globan & Vladimir Arčabić, 2022. "Managing the impact of globalization and technology on inequality," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 1035-1060, December.
    8. Jianu, Ionut & Dobre, Ion & Bodislav, Dumitru Alexandru & Radulescu, Carmen Valentina & Burlacu, Sorin, 2019. "The implications of institutional specificities on the income inequalities drivers in European Union," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 53(2), pages 59-76.
    9. Davidescu, Adriana Anamaria & Schneider, Friedrich, 2017. "Nature of the Relationship between Minimum Wage and the Shadow Economy Size: An Empirical Analysis for the Case of Romania," IZA Discussion Papers 11247, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2004. "Inequality, Institutions, and Informality," Research Department Publications 4377, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    11. repec:agr:journl:v:2(602):y:2015:i:2(602):p:23-42 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Thomas Piketty, 2015. "About Capital in the Twenty-First Century," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 48-53, May.
    13. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    14. Li, Hongyi & Squire, Lyn & Zou, Heng-fu, 1998. "Explaining International and Intertemporal Variations in Income Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(446), pages 26-43, January.
    15. Branko Milanovic, 2005. "Can We Discern the Effect of Globalization on Income Distribution? Evidence from Household Surveys," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 21-44.
    16. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2007. "Inequality and Institutions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 454-465, August.
    17. Breusch, T S & Pagan, A R, 1979. "A Simple Test for Heteroscedasticity and Random Coefficient Variation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(5), pages 1287-1294, September.
    18. Florence Jaumotte & Carolina Osorio Buitron, 2015. "Inequality and Labor Market Institutions," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 15/14, International Monetary Fund.
    19. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2004. "Inequality, Institutions, and Informality," Research Department Publications 4377, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    20. Daniele Checchi & Cecilia García-Peñalosa, 2008. "Labour market institutions and income inequality [‘Globalisation and the great U-turn: Income inequality trends in 16 OECD countries’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 23(56), pages 602-649.
    21. Bound, John & Johnson, George, 1992. "Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980's: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 371-392, June.
    22. Sylwester, Kevin, 2002. "Can education expenditures reduce income inequality?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 43-52, February.
    23. Olimpia Neagu & Florin Dumiter & Alexandra Braica, 2016. "Inequality, Economic Growth and Trade Openness: a Study Case for Central and Eastern Countries (ECE)," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 18(43), pages 557-557, August.
    24. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2007. "Inequality and Institutions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 454-465, August.
    25. Wood, Adrian, 1997. "Openness and Wage Inequality in Developing Countries: The Latin American Challenge to East Asian Conventional Wisdom," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 11(1), pages 33-57, January.
    26. Svilena MIHAYLOVA, 2015. "Foreign direct investment and income inequality in Central and Eastern Europe," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(2(603), S), pages 23-42, Summer.
    27. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2007. "Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(1), pages 39-82, March.
    28. H. Naci Mocan, 1999. "Structural Unemployment, Cyclical Unemployment, and Income Inequality," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 122-134, February.
    29. Dobson, Stephen & Ramlogan-Dobson, Carlyn, 2012. "Inequality, corruption and the informal sector," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 104-107.
    30. Ms. Florence Jaumotte & Ms. Carolina Osorio-Buitron, 2015. "Inequality and Labor Market Institutions," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2015/014, International Monetary Fund.
    31. Era Dabla-Norris & Kalpana Kochhar & Nujin Suphaphiphat & Franto Ricka & Evridiki Tsounta, 2015. "Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality; A Global Perspective," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 15/13, International Monetary Fund.
    32. Gradstein, Mark, 2004. "Inequality, Democracy and the Emergence of Institutions," CEPR Discussion Papers 4187, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    33. Barro, Robert J, 2000. "Inequality and Growth in a Panel of Countries," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 5-32, March.
    34. Jacob Mincer, 1958. "Investment in Human Capital and Personal Income Distribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(4), pages 281-281.
    35. Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar & Mrs. Nujin Suphaphiphat & Mr. Franto Ricka & Ms. Evridiki Tsounta, 2015. "Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2015/013, International Monetary Fund.
    36. Dianshuang Wang, 2019. "International labour movement, public intermediate input and wage inequality: a dynamic approach," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 1-16, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu & Tamara Maria Nae & Margareta-Stela Florescu, 2022. "Exploring the Moderation and Mediation Effects in Addressing the Main Determinants of Income Inequalities in Supporting Quality of Life: Insights from CEE Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-28, July.
    2. Christopher Hartwell, 2022. "Institutions and trade‐related inequality," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 3246-3264, July.
    3. de Haan, Jakob & Sturm, Jan-Egbert, 2017. "Finance and income inequality: A review and new evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 171-195.
    4. Szczepaniak, Małgorzata & Geise, Andrzej & Bariyah, Nurul, 2022. "Impact of institutional determinants on income inequalities in Indonesia during the Era Reformasi," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. de Haan, Jakob & Sturm, Jan-Egbert, 2017. "Finance and income inequality: A review and new evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 171-195.
    6. John C. Anyanwu, 2016. "Empirical Analysis of the Main Drivers of Income Inequality in Southern Africa," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 17(2), pages 337-364, November.
    7. Li, Y. & Murshed, S.M. & Papyrakis, E., 2021. "Public capital and income inequality: some empirical evidence," ISS Working Papers - General Series 677, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    8. Farhad Taghizadeh‐Hesary & Naoyuki Yoshino & Sayoko Shimizu, 2020. "The impact of monetary and tax policy on income inequality in Japan," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(10), pages 2600-2621, October.
    9. Bucevska Vesna, 2019. "Determinants of Income Inequality in EU Candidate Countries: A Panel Analysis," Economic Themes, Sciendo, vol. 57(4), pages 397-413, December.
    10. Chu, Lan Khanh & Hoang, Dung Phuong, 2020. "How does economic complexity influence income inequality? New evidence from international data," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 44-57.
    11. Baiardi, Donatella & Morana, Claudio, 2018. "Financial development and income distribution inequality in the euro area," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 40-55.
    12. Blotevogel, Robert & Imamoglu, Eslem & Moriyama, Kenji & Sarr, Babacar, 2022. "Income inequality measures and economic growth channels," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. Joseph Keneck Massil, 2016. "Institutions, théories du changement institutionnel et déterminant de la qualité des institutions: les enseignements de la littérature économique," Working Papers hal-04141607, HAL.
    14. Gil-Alana, Luis A. & Škare, Marinko & Pržiklas-Družeta, Romina, 2019. "Measuring inequality persistence in OECD 1963–2008 using fractional integration and cointegration," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 65-72.
    15. Prabir De, 2010. "Governance, Institutions, and Regional Infrastructure in Asia," Working Papers id:3029, eSocialSciences.
    16. Joseph Keneck Massil, 2016. "Institutions, théories du changement institutionnel et déterminant de la qualité des institutions: les enseignements de la littérature économique," EconomiX Working Papers 2016-4, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    17. Giovanni Dosi & Marcelo Pereira & Andrea Roventini & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2016. "The Effects of Labour Market Reforms upon Unemployment and Income Inequalities: an Agent Based Model," Working Papers hal-03459264, HAL.
    18. Eva Militaru & Madalina Ecaterina Popescu & Amalia Cristescu & Maria Denisa Vasilescu, 2019. "Assessing Minimum Wage Policy Implications upon Income Inequalities. The Case of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, May.
    19. Sudip Ranjan Basu, 2017. "Do data show divergence? Revisiting global income inequality trends," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 24(1), pages 23-53, June.
    20. Conrad Scheibe, 2016. "Fiscal Consolidations and Their Effects on Income Inequality," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 2016-4, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:6:p:2234-:d:1352790. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.