IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jregsc/v62y2022i5p1467-1486.html

Infrastructure and income inequality: An application to the Brazilian case using hierarchical spatial autoregressive models

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Medeiros
  • Rafael Saulo Marques Ribeiro
  • Pedro Vasconscelos Maia do Amaral

Abstract

Many scholars have highlighted the role of infrastructure in reducing income inequality. Developing economies present immense regional and income discrepancies, which are correlated with unequally distributed infrastructure in territorial and population terms. In this paper, we assess the effects of infrastructure supply on income inequality and verify whether these effects vary according to the infrastructure sector and its degree of quality and access in Brazil. The analysis is based on spatial hierarchical models. Results allow us to say that infrastructure correlates negatively with income inequality. Hence, policies aimed at improving infrastructure quality and expanding access are crucial for reducing income concentration.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Medeiros & Rafael Saulo Marques Ribeiro & Pedro Vasconscelos Maia do Amaral, 2022. "Infrastructure and income inequality: An application to the Brazilian case using hierarchical spatial autoregressive models," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1467-1486, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:62:y:2022:i:5:p:1467-1486
    DOI: 10.1111/jors.12611
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12611
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jors.12611?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Marrewijk, Charles van, 2002. "Locational competition and agglomeration: the role of government spending," CCSO Working Papers 200209, University of Groningen, CCSO Centre for Economic Research.
    2. Ajitava Raychaudhuri & Prabir De, 2010. "Trade, infrastruture and income inequality in selected Asian countries: An empirical analysis," Working Papers 8210, Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), an initiative of UNESCAP and IDRC, Canada..
    3. repec:ilo:ilowps:488271 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. César Calderón & Alberto Chong, 2004. "Volume and Quality of Infrastructure and the Distribution of Income: An Empirical Investigation," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 50(1), pages 87-106, March.
    5. Wan, Guanghua & Zhang, Yan, 2018. "The direct and indirect effects of infrastructure on firm productivity: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 143-153.
    6. Daire McCoy & Sean Lyons & Edgar Morgenroth & Donal Palcic & Leonie Allen, 2018. "The impact of broadband and other infrastructure on the location of new business establishments," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 509-534, June.
    7. Riccardo Crescenzi & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2012. "Infrastructure and regional growth in the European Union," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(3), pages 487-513, August.
    8. Aschauer, David Alan, 1989. "Is public expenditure productive?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 177-200, March.
    9. Chia-Lin Chen & Roger Vickerman, 2017. "Can transport infrastructure change regions’ economic fortunes? Some evidence from Europe and China," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 144-160, January.
    10. Stefania Cosci & Loredana Mirra, 2018. "A spatial analysis of growth and convergence in Italian provinces: the role of road infrastructure," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(4), pages 516-527, April.
    11. Yin-Fang Zhang & Shengbao Ji, 2019. "Infrastructure, externalities and regional industrial productivity in China: a spatial econometric approach," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(8), pages 1112-1124, August.
    12. Henry Kaiser, 1958. "The varimax criterion for analytic rotation in factor analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 23(3), pages 187-200, September.
    13. Straub, Stephane, 2008. "Infrastructure and growth in developing countries : recent advances and research challenges," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4460, The World Bank.
    14. Kaushik Basu & Joseph E. Stiglitz (ed.), 2016. "Inequality and Growth: Patterns and Policy," International Economic Association Series, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-55454-3.
    15. Amien Makmuri, 2017. "Infrastructure and inequality: An empirical evidence from Indonesia," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 9(1), pages 29-39.
    16. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael Saulo Marques, 2020. "Power infrastructure and income inequality: Evidence from Brazilian state-level data using dynamic panel data models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    17. Dulani Seneviratne & Ms. Yan M Sun, 2013. "Infrastructure and Income Distribution in ASEAN-5: What are the Links?," IMF Working Papers 2013/041, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Emma Hooper & Sanjay Peters & Patrick Pintus, 2017. "To What Extent Can Long-Term Investment in Infrastructure Reduce Inequality?," Working papers 624, Banque de France.
    19. repec:dgr:rugccs:200209 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Guanpeng Dong & Richard Harris & Kelvyn Jones & Jianhui Yu, 2015. "Multilevel Modelling with Spatial Interaction Effects with Application to an Emerging Land Market in Beijing, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.
    21. repec:rza:wpaper:673 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Majumder, Rajarshi, 2012. "Removing poverty and inequality in India: the role of infrastructure," MPRA Paper 40941, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Stephane Straub, 2011. "Infrastructure and Development: A Critical Appraisal of the Macro-level Literature," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 683-708.
    24. Fingleton, Bernard & Szumilo, Nikodem, 2019. "Simulating the impact of transport infrastructure investment on wages: A dynamic spatial panel model approach," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 148-164.
    25. Ejaz Ghani & Arti Grover Goswami & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Highway to Success: The Impact of the Golden Quadrilateral Project for the Location and Performance of Indian Manufacturing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 317-357, March.
    26. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael Saulo Marques & Amaral, Pedro Vasconcelos Maia do, 2021. "Infrastructure and household poverty in Brazil: A regional approach using multilevel models," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    27. Adelheid Holl, 2004. "Transport Infrastructure, Agglomeration Economies, and Firm Birth: Empirical Evidence from Portugal," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 693-712, November.
    28. Luisa Corrado & Bernard Fingleton, 2012. "Where Is The Economics In Spatial Econometrics?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 210-239, May.
    29. Alex Cobham & Andrew Sumner, 2013. "Is it all about the tails? The Palma measure of income inequality," Working Papers 308, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    30. repec:dgr:rugsom:02c75 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Kaushik Basu & Joseph E. Stiglitz (ed.), 2016. "Inequality and Growth: Patterns and Policy," International Economic Association Series, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-55459-8.
    32. Benjamin Faber, 2014. "Trade Integration, Market Size, and Industrialization: Evidence from China's National Trunk Highway System," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(3), pages 1046-1070.
    33. Bajar, Sumedha & Rajeev, Meenakshi, 2015. "Impact of infrastructure provisioning on inequality: Evidence from India," Working Papers 337, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
    34. Chiara DEL BO & Massimo FLORIO, 2008. "Infrastructure and growth in the European Union: an empirical analysis at the regional level in a spatial framework," Departmental Working Papers 2008-37, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    35. repec:uii:journl:v:9:y:2017:i:1:p:29-39 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Ricardo Paes de Barros & Mirela de Carvalho & Samuel Franco & Rosane Mendonça, 2007. "A Queda Recente da Desigualdade de Renda no Brasil," Discussion Papers 1258, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    37. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, 2008. "Infrastructure and economic geography: An overview of theory and evidence," EIB Papers 6/2008, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    38. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Carballo, Jerónimo & Cusolito, Ana, 2017. "Roads, exports and employment: Evidence from a developing country," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 21-39.
    39. Holl, Adelheid, 2016. "Highways and productivity in manufacturing firms," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 131-151.
    40. Alex Cobham, Andy Sumner, 2013. "Is It All About the Tails? The Palma Measure of Income Inequality-Working Paper 343," Working Papers 343, Center for Global Development.
    41. Ricardo Paes de Barros & Mirela de Carvalho & Samuel Franco & Rosane Mendonça, 2007. "A Importância da Queda Recente da Desigualdade na Redução da Pobreza," Discussion Papers 1256, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    42. Arbués, Pelayo & Baños, José F. & Mayor, Matías, 2015. "The spatial productivity of transportation infrastructure," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 166-177.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Honoré Tekam Oumbé & Georges Ngnouwal Eloundou & Thierry Asngar Mamadou, 2022. "Impact of access to electricity on internal conflicts in Africa: Does income inequality matter?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(3), pages 395-409, September.
    2. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael Saulo Marques, 2020. "Power infrastructure and income inequality: Evidence from Brazilian state-level data using dynamic panel data models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    3. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael S.M. & Amaral, Pedro V.M., 2026. "Infrastructure, growth, and regional disparities: Looking at efficiency, redistribution, and equity goals in road investments," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Isaac K. Ofori & Nathanael Ojong & Emmanuel Y. Gbolonyo, 2024. "Foreign Aid, Infrastructure, and the Inclusive Growth Agenda in Sub‐Saharan Africa," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), December.
    5. Bovick Wandja Yemba & Rafael S. M. Ribeiro & Victor Medeiros, 2020. "Infrastructure and manufacturing in Sub-Saharan Africa: An empirical analysis using dynamic panel data models," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 73(294), pages 261-276.
    6. Marina Glushenkova & Yingying Shi, 2024. "Building Bridges or Walls? Understanding Urban-Rural Price Convergence in China," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 827-854, September.
    7. Oleg Badunenko & Maria Popova, 2024. "Does inequality migrate? The development of income inequality across German states," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 555-589, March.

    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. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael S.M. & Amaral, Pedro V.M., 2026. "Infrastructure, growth, and regional disparities: Looking at efficiency, redistribution, and equity goals in road investments," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    2. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael Saulo Marques, 2020. "Power infrastructure and income inequality: Evidence from Brazilian state-level data using dynamic panel data models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    3. Gibbons, Stephen & Lyytikäinen, Teemu & Overman, Henry G. & Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa, 2019. "New road infrastructure: The effects on firms," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 35-50.
    4. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael S.M. & Amaral, Pedro V.M. & Stein, Alexandre Q., 2025. "Highway infrastructure and economic development: Measuring causal impacts of infrastructure investments using a three-step instrumental variable identification strategy," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 394-407.
    5. Zhenxiong Huang & Hangtian Xu & Jianming Li & Nengsheng Luo, 2020. "Has highway construction narrowed the urban–rural income gap? Evidence from Chinese cities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 705-723, June.
    6. Konno, Akio & Kato, Hironori & Takeuchi, Wataru & Kiguchi, Riku, 2021. "Global evidence on productivity effects of road infrastructure incorporating spatial spillover effects," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 167-182.
    7. Bajar, Sumedha. & Rajeev, Meenakshi., 2015. "The impact of infrastructure provisioning on inequality : evidence from India," ILO Working Papers 994882713402676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Medeiros, Victor & Ribeiro, Rafael Saulo Marques & Amaral, Pedro Vasconcelos Maia do, 2021. "Infrastructure and household poverty in Brazil: A regional approach using multilevel models," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    9. repec:ilo:ilowps:488271 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. repec:uii:journl:v:9:y:2017:i:1:p:29-39 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Bottasso, Anna & Conti, Maurizio & Ferrari, Claudio & Tei, Alessio, 2014. "Ports and regional development: A spatial analysis on a panel of European regions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 44-55.
    12. Bovick Wandja Yemba & Rafael S. M. Ribeiro & Victor Medeiros, 2020. "Infrastructure and manufacturing in Sub-Saharan Africa: An empirical analysis using dynamic panel data models," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 73(294), pages 261-276.
    13. Tian, Zhihua & Hu, An & Yang, Zhen & Lin, Yongran, 2024. "Highway networks and regional poverty: Evidence from Chinese counties," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 224-231.
    14. Qi, Guanqiu & Shi, Wenming & Lin, Kun-Chin & Yuen, Kum Fai & Xiao, Yi, 2020. "Spatial spillover effects of logistics infrastructure on regional development: Evidence from China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 96-114.
    15. Marinos, Theocharis & Belegri-Roboli, Athena & Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Konstantakis, Konstantinos Ν., 2022. "The spatial spillover effect of transport infrastructures in the Greek economy (2000–2013): A panel data analysis," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    16. Lee, Jae Kwang, 2021. "Transport infrastructure investment, accessibility change and firm productivity: Evidence from the Seoul region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    17. Ciani, Emanuele & de Blasio, Guido & Poy, Samuele, 2022. "A freeway to prosperity? Evidence from Calabria, South of Italy," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    18. Li, Chunying & Zhang, Jinning & Lyu, Yanwei, 2022. "Does the opening of China railway express promote urban total factor productivity? New evidence based on SDID and SDDD model," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    19. Getachew, Yoseph Y. & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2015. "Productive government spending and its consequences for the growth–inequality tradeoff," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 621-640.
    20. Mavraki, Christina & Arabatzis, Garyfallos & Kantartzis, Apostolos & Malesios, Chrisovalantis, 2020. "Fostering regional development in eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece, through road transport projects," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 56-67.
    21. Zhang, Xueliang & Hu, Yuqi & Lin, Yongran, 2020. "The influence of highway on local economy: Evidence from China's Yangtze River Delta region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    22. Orea, Luis & Álvarez, Inmaculada C., 2019. "Spatial Production Economics," Efficiency Series Papers 2019/06, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).

    More about this item

    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:bla:jregsc:v:62:y:2022:i:5:p:1467-1486. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-4146 .

    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.