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On the Nature of Income Inequality Across Nations

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Author Info
Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira (Fundacao Getulio Vargas)
Samuel deAbreu Pessoa (Getulio Vargas Foundation)
Joao Victor Issler (Getulio Vargas Foundation)

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Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the nature of income inequality across nations by first estimating, testing, and distinguishing between two types of aggregate production functions: the extended neoclassical model and a mincerian formulation of schooling-returns to skills. Next, given our panel-data estimates, we proceed in decomposing the variance of the (log) level of output per-worker in 1985 into that of three distinct factors: productivity, human capital, and the dynamic incentives to accumulate capital. Finally, we classify a group of 95 countries according to their relative position (above or below average) for each of these factors. The picture that emerges from these last two exercises is one where countries grew in the past for different reasons, which should be considered for policy design. Although there is not a single-factor explanation for the difference in output per-worker across nations, it seems that productivity differences can explain a considerable portion of income inequality, followed second by dynamic inefficiencies and third by human capital accumulation.

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Paper provided by Econometric Society in its series Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers with number 1487.

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Date of creation: 01 Aug 2000
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Handle: RePEc:ecm:wc2000:1487

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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.:
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  2. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why Do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output per Worker than Others?," NBER Working Papers 6564, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Benhabib, Jess & Spiegel, Mark M., 1994. "The role of human capital in economic development evidence from aggregate cross-country data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 143-173, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Willis, Robert J., 1987. "Wage determinants: A survey and reinterpretation of human capital earnings functions," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 10, pages 525-602 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. V. V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe & Ellen R. McGrattan, 1997. "The poverty of nations: a quantitative exploration," Staff Report 204, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," NBER Working Papers 3120, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Peter Klenow & Andrés Rodríguez-Clare, 1997. "The Neoclassical Revival in Growth Economics: Has It Gone Too Far?," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1997, Volume 12, pages 73-114 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  16. McGrattan, Ellen R., 1994. "The macroeconomic effects of distortionary taxation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 573-601, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Barro, Robert J & Lee, Jong Wha, 1996. "International Measures of Schooling Years and Schooling Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 218-23, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Douglas Gollin, 2002. "Getting Income Shares Right," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(2), pages 458-474, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Psacharopoulos, George, 1994. "Returns to investment in education: A global update," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(9), pages 1325-1343, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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. Milton Barossi-Filho & Ricardo Gonçalves Silva & Eliezer Martins Diniz, 2004. "The Empirics of the Solow Growth Model: Long-Term Evidence," GE, Growth, Math methods 0406001, EconWPA, revised 08 Oct 2005. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Jess Enrique Morales Pi?ro, 2004. "Labour Market Frictions, Social Policies, and Barriers to Technology Adoption," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 633.04, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC). [Downloadable!]
  3. Samuel de Abreu Pessôa, 2001. "Um Modelo de Acumulação de Capital Físico e Humano: Um Diálogo Com a Economia do Trabalho," Anais do XXIX Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 29th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 035, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pósgraduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics]. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira & Osmani Teixeira de Carvalho Guillén, 2002. "Estrutura Competitiva, Produtividade Industrial e Liberação Comercial no Brasil," Working Papers Series 44, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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