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Explaining Inequality the World Round: Cohort Size, Kuznets Curves, andOpenness

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  • Matthew Higgins
  • Jeffrey G. Williamson

Abstract

Klaus Deininger and Lyn Squire have recently produced an inequality data base for a panel of countries from the 1960s to the 1990s. We use these data to decompose the sources of inequality into three central parts: the demographic or cohort size effect; the so-called Kuznets Curve or demand effects; and the commitment to globalization or policy effects. We also control for education supply, the so-called natural resource curse and other variables suggested by the literature. While the Kuznets Curve comes out of hiding when the inequality relationship is conditioned by the other two, cohort size seems to be the most important force at work. We resolve the apparent conflict between this macro finding on cohort size and the contrary implications of recent research based on micro data.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7224.

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Date of creation: Jul 1999
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Publication status: published as Higgins, Matthew and Jeffrey G. Williamson. “Explaining Inequality the World Round: Cohort Size, Kuznets Curves, and Openness." Southeast Asian Studies 40, 3 (December 2002): 268-302.
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7224
Note: DAE ITI LS
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  • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
  • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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