IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/gbl/wpaper/201204.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Inequality aversion, income redistribution and economic geography

Author

Listed:
  • Schaeffer, Y.
  • Charlot, S.

Abstract

Standard 'New Economic Geography' (NEG) models assume mobile individuals settle in the region where they can earn the highest real income. But recent economic studies on 'Happiness' have accumulated empirical evidence suggesting most individuals - not just the poor - dislike living in regions where income inequality is high. Using a Krugman-type model,augmented with housing costs, we introduce the notion of 'Local Inequality Aversion' and show how it matters to economic geography. On the one hand, mobile individuals suffer an endogenous regional disamenity - income inequality - which produces an agglomerative (dispersive) force when transport costs are high (low). On the other hand, local inequality aversion is likely to lead to some redistributive transfers which benefit both rich and poor : if so, an increase in aversion intensity favors increased agglomeration.

Suggested Citation

  • Schaeffer, Y. & Charlot, S., 2012. "Inequality aversion, income redistribution and economic geography," Working Papers 201204, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
    • Handle: RePEc:gbl:wpaper:201204
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://gael.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/sites/gael/files/doc-recherche/WP/A2012/gael2012-04.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Martin, 2003. "Public Policies and Economic Geography," Post-Print hal-03416834, HAL.
    2. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1999. "A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 817-868.
    3. Fredrik Andersson & Rikard Forslid, 2003. "Tax Competition and Economic Geography," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 5(2), pages 279-303, April.
    4. Olga Alonso‐Villar, 2008. "A model of economic geography with demand‐pull and congestion costs," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(2), pages 261-276, June.
    5. Krugman, Paul & Elizondo, Raul Livas, 1996. "Trade policy and the Third World metropolis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 137-150, April.
    6. Fujita, Masahisa & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2009. "New Economic Geography: An appraisal on the occasion of Paul Krugman's 2008 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 109-119, March.
    7. Pierre-Philippe Combes & Thierry Mayer & Jacques-François Thisse, 2008. "Economic Geography: The Integration of Regions and Nations," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00311000, HAL.
    8. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Lafourcade, Miren & Thisse, Jacques-François & Toutain, Jean-Claude, 2011. "The rise and fall of spatial inequalities in France: A long-run perspective," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 243-271, April.
    9. Rikard Forslid & Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, 2003. "An analytically solvable core-periphery model," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(3), pages 229-240, July.
    10. Murata, Yasusada & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2005. "A simple model of economic geography a la Helpman-Tabuchi," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 137-155, July.
    11. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Xavier Ramos, 2010. "Inequality Aversion and Risk Attitudes," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 271, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, 1991. "Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 1039-1061.
    13. Gianmarco Ottaviano & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2021. "Agglomeration And Trade Revisited," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 3, pages 59-85, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen, 2009. "Trade and Geography: Paul Krugman and the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 5-23.
    15. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    16. Bjorvatn, K. & Cappelen, A. W., 2003. "Inequality, segregation, and redistribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(7-8), pages 1657-1679, August.
    17. Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene, 2007. "Regional policy design: An analysis of relocation, efficiency and equity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 1443-1467, August.
    18. Morris A. Davis & Francois Ortalo-Magne, 2011. "Household Expenditures, Wages, Rents," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(2), pages 248-261, April.
    19. Tabuchi, Takatoshi & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2002. "Taste heterogeneity, labor mobility and economic geography," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 155-177, October.
    20. Ottaviano, Gianmarco & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2004. "Agglomeration and economic geography," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 58, pages 2563-2608, Elsevier.
    21. Pflüger, Michael & Südekum, Jens, 2008. "Integration, agglomeration and welfare," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 544-566, March.
    22. Christopher T. Dawes & James H. Fowler & Tim Johnson & Richard McElreath & Oleg Smirnov, 2007. "Egalitarian motives in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 446(7137), pages 794-796, April.
    23. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen, 2009. "Trade and Geography: Paul Krugman and the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics," CESifo Working Paper Series 2528, CESifo.
    24. Thisse, Jacques-François & Fujita, Masahisa, 2008. "New Economic Geography: an appraisal on the occasion of Paul Krugman's 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics," CEPR Discussion Papers 7063, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    25. Sukkoo Kim, 1995. "Expansion of Markets and the Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities: The Trends in U. S. Regional Manufacturing Structure, 1860–1987," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 881-908.
    26. Pauly, Mark V., 1973. "Income redistribution as a local public good," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 35-58, February.
    27. Kristian Behrens & Frédéric Robert‐Nicoud, 2009. "Krugman's Papers in Regional Science: The 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk is gone and the 2008 Nobel Prize well‐deserved," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(2), pages 467-489, June.
    28. Jens Suedekum, 2006. "Agglomeration And Regional Costs Of Living," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 529-543, August.
    29. Schwarze, Johannes & Harpfer, Marco, 2007. "Are people inequality averse, and do they prefer redistribution by the state?: Evidence from German longitudinal data on life satisfaction," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 233-249, April.
    30. Hochman, Harold M & Rodgers, James D, 1969. "Pareto Optimal Redistribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(4), pages 542-557, Part I Se.
    31. J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), 2004. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 4.
    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. Fabien Candau, 2011. "Is Agglomeration Desirable?," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 101-102, pages 203-227.
    2. Fabien Candau & Michaël Goujon & Jean-François Hoarau & Serge Rey, 2014. "Real exchange rate and competitiveness of an EU's ultra-peripheral region: La Reunion Island," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 137, pages 1-21.
    3. José M. Gaspar, 2018. "A prospective review on New Economic Geography," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(2), pages 237-272, September.
    4. Fabien Candau, 2011. "Is Agglomeration Desirable?," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 101-102, pages 203-227.
    5. Maria Florencia Granato, 2011. "REGIONAL NEW ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY (refereed paper)," ERSA conference papers ersa10p747, European Regional Science Association.
    6. Fabien Candau, 2008. "Entrepreneurs' Location Choice And Public Policies: A Survey Of The New Economic Geography," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 909-952, December.
    7. Olga Alonso-Villar, 2006. "A Reflection On The Effects Of Transport Costs Within The New Economic Geography," Working Papers 57, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    8. Kristian Behrens & Frédéric Robert‐Nicoud, 2009. "Krugman's Papers in Regional Science: The 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk is gone and the 2008 Nobel Prize well‐deserved," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(2), pages 467-489, June.
    9. Akamatsu, Takashi & Takayama, Yuki & Ikeda, Kiyohiro, 2012. "Spatial discounting, Fourier, and racetrack economy: A recipe for the analysis of spatial agglomeration models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 1729-1759.
    10. Yiming Zhou, 2019. "Home market effect, land rent, and welfare," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 561-580, June.
    11. Pflüger, Michael & Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 2010. "The size of regions with land use for production," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 481-489, November.
    12. Pflüger, Michael P. & Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 2008. "Trade and Location with Land as a Productive Factor," IZA Discussion Papers 3716, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Akamatsu, Takashi & Takayama, Yuki, 2009. "A Simplified Approach to Analyzing Multi-regional Core-Periphery Models," MPRA Paper 21739, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 29 Oct 2009.
    14. Hajime Takatsuka & Dao-Zhi Zeng, 2013. "Industrial configuration in an economy with low transportation costs," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(2), pages 593-620, October.
    15. Daisuke Oyama & Yasuhiro Sato & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2009. "On the impact of trade on industrial structures: The role of entry cost heterogeneity," Working Papers halshs-00566786, HAL.
    16. Pierre Philippe Combes & Gilles Duranton & Henry G. Overman, 2005. "Agglomeration and the adjustment of the spatial economy§," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(3), pages 311-349, August.
    17. Jian Wang & Junqian Xu, 2015. "Home market effect, spatial wages disparity: an empirical reinvestigation of China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(2), pages 313-333, December.
    18. Stephan Russek, 2010. "Differential labour mobility and agglomeration," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 587-606, August.
    19. Fabien Candau, 2008. "Urban costs, Trade costs and Tax Competition," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 118(5), pages 625-661.
    20. Olga Alonso‐Villar, 2008. "A model of economic geography with demand‐pull and congestion costs," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(2), pages 261-276, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    INEQUALITY AVERSION; INCOME REDISTRIBUTION; ENDOGENOUS AMENITY; CONGESTION COSTS; NEW ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY; HAPPINESS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R28 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Government Policy
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:gbl:wpaper:201204. 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: Adrien Hervouet (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inragfr.html .

    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.