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Spatial Analysis of Regional and Income Inequality in the United States

Author

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  • Muhammad Salar Khan

    (Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Arlington, VA 22201, USA)

  • Abu Bakkar Siddique

    (Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Arlington, VA 22201, USA)

Abstract

Understanding the spatial or geographical dependence of income inequality and regional inequality is crucial in the study of inequality. This paper employs a multi-scale, multi-mechanism framework to map and analyze historical patterns of regional and income inequality in the United States (US) by using state and regional panel data spanning over a century. To explore the patterns systematically and see the role of spatial partitioning, we organize the data around several established geographical partitions before conducting various geographical information system (GIS) analyses and statistical techniques. We also investigate the spatial dependence of income inequality and regional inequality. We find that spatial autocorrelation exists for both types of inequality in the US. However, the magnitude of spatial dependence for regional inequality is declining whereas it is volatile for income inequality over time. While income inequality has been at its peak in the most recent decades, we also notice that regional inequality is at its lowest point. As for the choice of partitioning, we observe that within inequality dominates for Census Divisions and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) regions. Conversely, we see that between inequality overall contributes the most to the inequality among Census Regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Salar Khan & Abu Bakkar Siddique, 2021. "Spatial Analysis of Regional and Income Inequality in the United States," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:9:y:2021:i:4:p:159-:d:662157
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    2. Fuller-Rowell, Thomas E. & Sultana, Samia & Ryff, Carol D. & Kim, Eric S. & Jokela, Markus & Subramanian, S.V. & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2025. "Childhood SES gradients in adult functional limitations: Does state-level macro-economic context matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 386(C).
    3. Abu Bakkar Siddique, 2023. "Job market polarization and American poverty," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-24, December.
    4. Venera Timiryanova & Dina Krasnoselskaya & Natalia Kuzminykh, 2022. "Applying the Multilevel Approach in Estimation of Income Population Differences," Stats, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-32, December.
    5. Sabyasachi Tripathi & Komali Yenneti, 2024. "Does inequality in urban population distribution lead to income inequality? Evidence from India," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 787-818, September.

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