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Inequality and growth: industry-level evidence

Author

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  • Lisardo Erman

    (Osnabrück University)

  • Daniel Marcel Kaat

    (Osnabrück University)

Abstract

Using a comprehensive data set of 22 industries in 86 countries over the period 1980–2012, we empirically identify the effect of inequality on industry-level value added growth. We show that an unequal income distribution increases the growth rates of physical-capital-intensive industries and reduces the growth rates of human-capital-intensive industries by lowering human capital and raising physical capital accumulation. Our study suggests that the empirical difficulty to identify a monotonic relationship between inequality and aggregate growth reflects differences in the relative importance of human and physical capital in a country’s production structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisardo Erman & Daniel Marcel Kaat, 2019. "Inequality and growth: industry-level evidence," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 283-308, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecgro:v:24:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10887-019-09169-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10887-019-09169-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Dávila-Fernández, Marwil J. & Punzo, Lionello F., 2021. "The Kuznets curve of the rich," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    2. Haiyan Lin & Markus Brueckner, 2024. "Inequality and growth in China," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 539-585, February.
    3. Baselgia, Enea & Foellmi, Reto, 2022. "Inequality and Growth: A Review on a Great Open Debate in Economics," CEPR Discussion Papers 17483, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Gutiérrez-Romero, Roxana, 2021. "How does inequality affect long-run growth? Cross-industry, cross-country evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 274-297.
    5. Simplice Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2023. "Health performance and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa: new evidence based on quantile regressions," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 50(12), pages 1655-1671, May.
    6. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay & Rui Sun, 2021. "How large is the effect of inequality on economic growth?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(2), pages 523-531.
    7. Dinger, Valeriya & Erman, Lisardo & te Kaat, Daniel Marcel, 2022. "Bank bailouts and economic growth: Evidence from cross-country, cross-industry data," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Mahmut Zeki Akarsu, 2023. "Unequal Society: A Detailed Investigation of Wage and Income Inequality in the United States," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 3771-3798, December.
    9. Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero, 2020. "Inequality affects long-run growth: Cross-industry, cross-country evidence," Working Papers 102, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    10. Gustavo A. Marrero & Luis Servén, 2022. "Growth, inequality and poverty: a robust relationship?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 725-791, August.
    11. Karen Tumanyants & Sergey Arzhenovskiy & Olga Arkova & Maksim Monastyryov & Irina Pichulina, 2023. "Inequality and Economic Growth in Russia: Econometric Analysis," Russian Journal of Money and Finance, Bank of Russia, vol. 82(2), pages 52-77, June.
    12. Duong, Khanh & Nguyen Phuc Van, 2023. "Innovation and Globalization: Benefactors or Barriers to Inclusive Growth?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1357, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality-growth nexus; Human capital; Physical capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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