IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bgo/journl/v9y2025i2p334-352.html

Institutional Quality and the Income Inequality Paradox: Exploring the Inequality Dynamics in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Emre Gökçeli

    (Kütahya Dumlupınar University)

Abstract

As countries incorporate technological advancements into their production processes, they achieve higher GDP levels, driving economic prosperity. However, the unequal distribution of income has raised concerns about income inequality. While many studies have focused on income as a determinant of inequality based on Kuznets' hypothesis, recent research has begun exploring the impact of institutional quality (IQ) on income distribution. Within this framework, this study examines the effects of IQ improvements on income distribution across three specific income groups using the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) technique for 17 Latin American countries from 1996 to 2023. The findings indicate that improvements in IQ have worsened income distribution in favor of the P90 group (top 10% income share). When assessing the effects of individual IQ components, corruption, government effectiveness, rule of law, and voice & accountability were found to have significantly negative effects on income distribution. Additionally, this study reveals that the relationship between IQ and income inequality is inverse U-shaped: while IQ improvements initially exacerbate income inequality, once a certain threshold is exceeded, they contribute to a more equitable distribution of income. However, IQ improvements did not have a significant impact on the P99 group (top 1% income share) or the B50 group (bottom 50% income share).

Suggested Citation

  • Emre Gökçeli, 2025. "Institutional Quality and the Income Inequality Paradox: Exploring the Inequality Dynamics in Latin America," Bingol University Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Bingol University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 9(2), pages 334-352, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bgo:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:2:p:334-352
    DOI: 10.33399/biibfad.1644175
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://repec.bingol.edu.tr/bgo/Institutional-Quality-and-the-Income-Inequality-Paradox-Exploring-the-Inequality-Dynamics-in-Latin-America.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.33399/biibfad.1644175?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Samuel Adams & Edem Kwame Mensah Klobodu, 2016. "Financial development, control of corruption and income inequality," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 790-808, November.
    2. Kemp-Benedict, Eric, 2011. "Political regimes and income inequality," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 266-268.
    3. Baltagi, Badi H. & Feng, Qu & Kao, Chihwa, 2012. "A Lagrange Multiplier test for cross-sectional dependence in a fixed effects panel data model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 170(1), pages 164-177.
    4. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2006. "Estimation and Inference in Large Heterogeneous Panels with a Multifactor Error Structure," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(4), pages 967-1012, July.
    5. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2008. "Why Is Rent-Seeking So Costly to Growth?," Springer Books, in: Roger D. Congleton & Kai A. Konrad & Arye L. Hillman (ed.), 40 Years of Research on Rent Seeking 2, pages 213-218, Springer.
    6. Policardo, Laura & Carrera, Edgar J. Sánchez, 2018. "Corruption causes inequality, or is it the other way around? An empirical investigation for a panel of countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 92-102.
    7. Daniel Kaufmann & Aart Kraay, 2008. "Governance Indicators: Where Are We, Where Should We Be Going?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 23(1), pages 1-30, January.
    8. Chong, Alberto & Calderon, Cesar, 2000. "Institutional Quality and Income Distribution," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(4), pages 761-786, July.
    9. Hashem Pesaran, M. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2008. "Testing slope homogeneity in large panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 50-93, January.
    10. Cong Minh Huynh, 2021. "Foreign direct investment and income inequality: Does institutional quality matter?," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(8), pages 1231-1243, November.
    11. Udaya Wagle, 2009. "Inclusive Democracy and Economic Inequality in South Asia: Any Discernible Link?," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(3), pages 329-357.
    12. Kouadio, Hugues Kouassi & Gakpa, Lewis-Landry, 2022. "Do economic growth and institutional quality reduce poverty and inequality in West Africa?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 41-63.
    13. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    14. Hartmann, Dominik & Guevara, Miguel R. & Jara-Figueroa, Cristian & Aristarán, Manuel & Hidalgo, César A., 2017. "Linking Economic Complexity, Institutions, and Income Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 75-93.
    15. Luis Enrique Pedauga & Lucien David Pedauga & Blanca L. Delgado-Márquez, 2017. "Relationships between corruption, political orientation, and income inequality: evidence from Latin America," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(17), pages 1689-1705, April.
    16. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    17. Muddassar Sarfraz & Larisa Ivascu & Lucian-Ionel Cioca, 2021. "Environmental Regulations and CO 2 Mitigation for Sustainability: Panel Data Analysis (PMG, CCEMG) for BRICS Nations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Michael Enowbi Batuo & Simplice A. Asongu, 2015. "The impact of liberalisation policies on income inequality in African countries," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(1), pages 68-100, January.
    19. Glaeser, Edward & Scheinkman, Jose & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "The injustice of inequality," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 199-222, January.
    20. Nicholas Apergis & Arusha Cooray, 2017. "Economic Freedom and Income Inequality: Evidence from a Panel of Global Economies— A Linear and a Non-Linear Long-Run Analysis," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 85(1), pages 88-105, January.
    21. Barro, Robert J, 2000. "Inequality and Growth in a Panel of Countries," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 5-32, March.
    22. Bennett, Daniel L. & Nikolaev, Boris, 2016. "Factor endowments, the rule of law and structural inequality," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 773-795, December.
    23. Ahmad, Mahyudin, 2016. "Middle income trap and income inequality: Empirical evidence on the distributional effect of economic liberalization and political regime," MPRA Paper 76437, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Chi-Chuan Lee & Chien-Chiang Lee, 2018. "The Impact of Country Risk on Income Inequality: A Multilevel Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 139-162, February.
    25. Nam, Hyun-Jung & Frijns, Bart & Ryu, Doojin, 2024. "Trade openness and income inequality: The moderating role of institutional quality," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    26. Carmignani, Fabrizio, 2009. "The distributive effects of institutional quality when government stability is endogenous," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 409-421, December.
    27. Alesina, Alberto & Perotti, Roberto, 1996. "Income distribution, political instability, and investment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1203-1228, June.
    28. Sulemana, Iddisah & Kpienbaareh, Daniel, 2018. "An empirical examination of the relationship between income inequality and corruption in Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 27-42.
    29. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    30. Partridge, Mark D, 1997. "Is Inequality Harmful for Growth? Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 1019-1032, December.
    31. Michael Enowbi Batuo & Simplice A. Asongu, 2015. "The impact of liberalisation policies on income inequality in African countries," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(1), pages 68-100, January.
    32. Radek Náplava, 2020. "Institutional Quality and Income Inequality: Evidence from Post-Soviet Countries," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 6(2), pages 100-112.
    33. 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).
    34. Joakim Westerlund, 2008. "Panel cointegration tests of the Fisher effect," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 193-233.
    35. Adalgiso Amendola & Joshy Easaw & Antonio Savoia, 2013. "Inequality in developing economies: the role of institutional development," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 43-60, April.
    36. Samuel Adams & Edem Kwame Mensah Klobodu, 2019. "Urbanization, Economic Structure, Political Regime, and Income Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 971-995, April.
    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. Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Jacques Simon Song, 2022. "Does Institutional Quality increase inequalities in Africa?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 1896-1927, September.
    2. Dong, Ziguang & Zhou, Zheng & Ananzeh, Mohammed & Hoang, Khai Nguyen & Shamansurova, Zilola & Luong, Tuan Anh, 2024. "Exploring the asymmetric association between fintech, clean energy, climate policy, natural resource conservations and environmental quality. A post-COVID perspective from Asian countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Samuel Adams & Edem Kwame Mensah Klobodu, 2019. "Urbanization, Economic Structure, Political Regime, and Income Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 971-995, April.
    4. Dong, Kangyin & Sun, Renjin & Hochman, Gal & Li, Hui, 2018. "Energy intensity and energy conservation potential in China: A regional comparison perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 782-795.
    5. Wang, Jianxin & Zhu, Guohua & Chang, Tin-Chang, 2024. "Unveiling the relationship between institutional quality, fintech, financial inclusion, human capital development and mineral resource abundance. An Asian perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Khalid, Usman & Shafiullah, Muhammad, 2021. "Financial development and governance: A panel data analysis incorporating cross-sectional dependence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    7. Godwin Olasehinde-Williams & Mehmet Balcilar, 2018. "The Long-run Effect of Geopolitical Risks on Insurance Premiums," Working Papers 15-44, Eastern Mediterranean University, Department of Economics.
    8. Lu, Yin & Tian, Tian & Ge, Chen, 2023. "Asymmetric effects of renewable energy, fintech development, natural resources, and environmental regulations on the climate change in the post-covid era," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    9. Michael Appiah & Bright Akwasi Gyamfi & Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Festus Victor Bekun, 2023. "Do financial development, foreign direct investment, and economic growth enhance industrial development? Fresh evidence from Sub-Sahara African countries," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 22(2), pages 203-227, May.
    10. Clement Olalekan Olaniyi & Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al‐Faryan & Eyitayo Oyewunmi Ogbaro, 2025. "Do institutional quality and its threshold matter in the sensitivity of the renewable energy transition to financial development? New empirical perspectives," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 5-43, January.
    11. Naseer, Ahsan & Su, Chi-Wei & Mirza, Nawazish & Li, Jing-Ping, 2020. "Double jeopardy of resources and investment curse in South Asia: Is technology the only way out?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Yilmaz Bayar & Marius Dan Gavriletea, 2019. "Energy efficiency, renewable energy, economic growth: evidence from emerging market economies," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 2221-2234, July.
    13. Bakry, Walid & Mallik, Girijasankar & Nghiem, Xuan-Hoa & Sinha, Avik & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2023. "Is green finance really “green”? Examining the long-run relationship between green finance, renewable energy and environmental performance in developing countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 341-355.
    14. Ozcan, Burcu, 2013. "The nexus between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Middle East countries: A panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1138-1147.
    15. Nnyanzi John Bosco & Kilimani Nicholas & Oryema John Bosco, 2022. "How important are remittances to savings? Evidence from the Latin America and the Caribbean Countries," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 13(1), pages 1-37, January.
    16. Ali Celik & Ebru Gul Yilmaz & Sukran Kahveci & Gonca Yilmaz, 2025. "Do Technological Advances Promote Ecological Sustainability? Evidence from Panel Causality Analysis for the Dirtiest and Cleanest Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(5), pages 17292-17327, November.
    17. Ufuk Bingöl & Fatih Ayhan, 2020. "The Impact of NEET and Labor Market Indicators on Human Development: A Panel Data Analysis for EU-28 Countries," Journal of Social Policy Conferences, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 0(79), pages 441-468, December.
    18. Umaima Arif & Maryam Latif & Asma Arif, 2024. "Assessing the triple deficit hypothesis in G-7 and D-8 countries: an evidence from heterogeneous panel methods," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 497-527, August.
    19. Petrović, Predrag & Ostojić, Ivana, 2025. "Effects of policy induced uncertainty and geopolitical risk on renewable energy production: Econometric analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    20. Nicholas M. Odhiambo & Talknice Saungweme, "undated". "Does International Tourism Spur International Trade In Ssa Countries? A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis," Working Papers AESRI07, African Economic and Social Research Institute (AESRI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bgo:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:2:p:334-352. 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: Halim Tatli (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.