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Equities and Inequality

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This paper studies the relationship between investor protection, the development of financial markets and income inequality. In the presence of market frictions, investor protection promotes financial development by raising confidence and reducing the costs of external financing. Developed financial systems spread risk among financiers and firms, allocating them to the agents bearing them best. Therefore, financial development plays the twofold role of encouraging agents to undertake risky enterprises and providing them with insurance. By increasing the number of risky projects, it raises income inequality. By extending insurance to more agents, it reduces it. As a result, the relationship between financial development and income inequality is hump-shaped. Empirical evidence from a cross-section of sixty-nine countries, as well as a panel of fifty-two countries over the period 1976-2000, supports the predictions of the model.

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  • Bonfiglioli, Alessandra, 2005. "Equities and Inequality," Seminar Papers 737, Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iiessp:0737
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    Cited by:

    1. Sudeshna Ghosh, 2020. "Impact of economic growth volatility on income inequality: ASEAN experience," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 807-850, June.
    2. Bittencourt, Manoel, 2011. "Inflation and financial development: Evidence from Brazil," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 91-99.
    3. Manoel Bittencourt, 2010. "Financial development and inequality: Brazil 1985–1994," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 113-130, May.
    4. Bonfiglioli, Alessandra, 2012. "Investor protection and income inequality: Risk sharing vs risk taking," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 92-104.
    5. Abu N. M. Wahid & Muhammad Shahbaz & Pervaz Azim, 2011. "Inflation and Financial Sector Correlation: The Case of Bangladesh," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 1(4), pages 145-152.
    6. Giuseppe Bertola, 2007. "Finance and Welfare States in Globalising Markets," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Christopher Kent & Jeremy Lawson (ed.),The Structure and Resilience of the Financial System, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    7. Mohamed Chakroun, 2020. "Threshold effects in the relationship between financial development and income inequality," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 365-387, July.
    8. Santos ALIMI, 2014. "Inflation and Financial Sector Performance: the Case of Nigeria," Timisoara Journal of Economics and Business, West University of Timisoara, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 7(1), pages 55-69.
    9. Muhammad Shahbaz & Nanthakumar Loganathan & Aviral Tiwari & Reza Sherafatian-Jahromi, 2015. "Financial Development and Income Inequality: Is There Any Financial Kuznets Curve in Iran?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 357-382, November.
    10. Madhu Sehrawat & A. Giri, 2016. "Financial development, poverty and rural-urban income inequality: evidence from South Asian countries," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 577-590, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income inequality; financial development; capital market frictions; investor protection; instrumental variables; dynamic panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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