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Economic Development and Income Distribution in Japan: An Assessment of the Kuznets Hypothesis

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Author Info
Minami, Ryoshin
Abstract

In this paper the author estimates the income distribution in pre-war Japan. For 1921-39, two sets of statistics were combined: national personal income tax data for high-income classes and household tax (one of the local taxes) data in 149 villages, 45 towns and 16 cities for low-income classes. For 1891-1921, a preliminary estimation was attempted based on 39 selected villages, towns and cities. From this estimation, he found a regressing income distribution for the pre-war period and a dramatic decrease in inequality between pre-war and post-war periods. The first finding supports the Kuznets hypothesis; the second does not. Rather, it suggests that the relatively equal distribution in contemporary Japan was nor a natural consequence of economic growth but a result of institutional changes immediately after the Second World War. Copyright 1998 by Oxford University Press.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Oxford University Press in its journal Cambridge Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 22 (1998)
Issue (Month): 1 (January)
Pages: 39-58
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Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:22:y:1998:i:1:p:39-58

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  1. ALi Abdel Gadir Ali, . "Poverty in the Arab Region: A Selective Review," API-Working Paper Series 0402, Arab Planning Institute - Kuwait, Information Center. [Downloadable!]
  2. Chiaki Moriguchi & Emmanuel Saez, 2006. "The Evolution of Income Concentration in Japan, 1886-2002: Evidence from Income Tax Statistics," NBER Working Papers 12558, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Osamu Saito, 2003. "Wages, inequality and pre-modern growth in Japan, 1727-1894," Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series d03-02, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
  4. Ali A. Ali & Ibrahim A. Elbadawi, 1999. "Inequality and the Dynamics of Poverty and Growth," CID Working Papers 32, Center for International Development at Harvard University. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-28.

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