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Openness, inequality, and poverty : endowments matter

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Author Info
Gourdon, Julien
Maystre, Nicolas
de Melo, Jaime

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Abstract

Using tariffs as a measure of openness, the authors find consistent evidence that the conditional effects of trade liberalization on inequality are correlated with relative factor endowments. Trade liberalization is associated with increases in inequality in countries well-endowed in highly skilled workers and capital or with workers that have very low education levels and in countries relatively well-endowed in mining and fuels. Trade liberalization is associated with decreases in inequality in countries that are well-endowed with primary-educated labor. Similar results are also apparent when decile data are used instead of the usual Gini coefficient. The results are strongly supportive of the factor-proportions theory of trade and suggest that trade liberalization in poor countries where the share of the labor force with very low education levels (likely employed in nontradable activities) is high raises inequality. In the sample, countries with low education levels also have relatively scarce endowments of capital. Quantitatively capital scarcity is the dominating effect so that trade liberalization is accompanied by reduced income inequality in low-income countries. Within-country inequality is also positively correlated with measures of macroeconomic instability. Simulation results suggest that relatively small changes in inequality as measured by aggregate measures of inequality like the Gini coefficient are magnified when estimates are carried out using decile data.

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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 3981.

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Date of creation: 01 Aug 2006
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3981

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Keywords: Free Trade; Economic Theory&Research; Inequality; Trade Law; Achieving Shared Growth;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Matthew Higgins & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 1999. "Explaining Inequality the World Round: Cohort Size, Kuznets Curves, andOpenness," NBER Working Papers 7224, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Barro, Robert J, 2000. " Inequality and Growth in a Panel of Countries," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 5-32, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Isabelle Bensidoun & Sebastien Jean & Aude Sztulman, 2005. "International Trade and Income Distribution: Reconsidering the Evidence," Working Papers 2005-17, CEPII research center. [Downloadable!]
  4. Angus Deaton, 2005. "Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 1-19, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Pritchett, Lant, 2000. "Understanding Patterns of Economic Growth: Searching for Hills among Plateaus, Mountains, and Plains," World Bank Economic Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 221-50, May. [Downloadable!]
  6. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2001. "Growth is good for the poor," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2587, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Pinelopi K. Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2004. "Trade, Inequality, and Poverty: What Do We Know? Evidence from Recent Trade Liberalization Episodes in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 10593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Mattias Lundberg & Lyn Squire, 2003. "The simultaneous evolution of growth and inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(487), pages 326-344, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Branko Milanovic, 2003. "Can We Discern The Effect Of Globalization On Income Distribution? Evidence From Household Surveys," HEW 0310002, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Xu, Bin, 2003. "Trade liberalization, wage inequality, and endogenously determined nontraded goods," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 417-431, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Romain Wacziarg & Karen Horn Welch, 2003. "Trade Liberalization and Growth: New Evidence," NBER Working Papers 10152, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Nicita, Alessandro, 2004. "Who benefited from trade liberalization in Mexico? Measuring the effects on household welfare," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3265, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  13. Galiano, Sebastian & Porto, Guido G., 2006. "Trends in tariff reforms and trends in wage inequality," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3905, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  14. L. Alan Winters & Neil McCulloch & Andrew McKay, 2004. "Trade Liberalization and Poverty: The Evidence So Far," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 72-115, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Anderson, Edward, 2005. "Openness and inequality in developing countries: A review of theory and recent evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1045-1063, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Hummels, David & Ishii, Jun & Yi, Kei-Mu, 2001. "The nature and growth of vertical specialization in world trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 75-96, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Adrian Wood, 2002. "Globalization and wage inequalities: A synthesis of three theories," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 54-82, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Deininger, Klaus & Squire, Lyn, 1996. "A New Data Set Measuring Income Inequality," World Bank Economic Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 565-91, September.
  19. Fischer, Ronald D., 2001. "The evolution of inequality after trade liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 555-579, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Spilimbergo, Antonio & Londono, Juan Luis & Szekely, Miguel, 1999. "Income distribution, factor endowments, and trade openness," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 77-101, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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. Elena Meschi & Marco Vivarelli, 2007. "Globalization and Income Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 2958, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Stephen Dobson & Carlyn Ramlogan, 2008. "Is there an openness Kuznets curve? Evidence from Latin America," Working Papers 2008/10, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Business School, Economics Division. [Downloadable!]
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