Search results
1 – 10 of over 104000The author proposes analyzing the dynamics of income positions using dynamic panel ordered probit models. The author disentangles, simultaneously, the roles of state dependence…
Abstract
The author proposes analyzing the dynamics of income positions using dynamic panel ordered probit models. The author disentangles, simultaneously, the roles of state dependence and heterogeneity (observed and non-observed) in explaining income position persistence, such as poverty persistence and affluence persistence. The author applies the approach to Chile exploiting longitudinal data from the P-CASEN 2006–2009. First, the author finds that income position mobility at the bottom and the top of the income distribution is much higher than expected, showing signs that income mobility in the case of Chile might be connected to economic insecurity. Second, the observable individual characteristics have a much stronger impact than true state dependence to explain individuals’ current income position in the income distribution extremes.
Details
Keywords
Petra Sauer, Narasimha D. Rao and Shonali Pachauri
In large parts of the world, income inequality has been rising in recent decades. Other regions have experienced declining trends in income inequality. This raises the question of…
Abstract
In large parts of the world, income inequality has been rising in recent decades. Other regions have experienced declining trends in income inequality. This raises the question of which mechanisms underlie contrasting observed trends in income inequality around the globe. To address this research question in an empirical analysis at the aggregate level, we examine a global sample of 73 countries between 1981 and 2010, studying a broad set of drivers to investigate their interaction and influence on income inequality. Within this broad approach, we are interested in the heterogeneity of income inequality determinants across world regions and along the income distribution. Our findings indicate the existence of a small set of systematic drivers across the global sample of countries. Declining labour income shares and increasing imports from high-income countries significantly contribute to increasing income inequality, while taxation and imports from low-income countries exert countervailing effects. Our study reveals the region-specific impacts of technological change, financial globalisation, domestic financial deepening and public social spending. Most importantly, we do not find systematic evidence of education’s equalising effect across high- and low-income countries. Our results are largely robust to changing the underlying sources of income Ginis, but looking at different segments of income distribution reveals heterogeneous effects.
Details
Keywords
Magali Valero and Jorge Noel Valero-Gil
The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that contribute to the number of reported coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths among low-income and high-income countries, and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that contribute to the number of reported coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths among low-income and high-income countries, and to understand the sources of differences between these two groups of countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple linear regression models evaluate the socio-economic factors that determine COVID-19 deaths in the two groups of countries. The Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition is used to examine sources of differences between these two groups.
Findings
Low-income countries report a significantly lower average number of COVID-19 deaths compared to high-income countries. Community mobility and the easiness of carrying the virus from one place to another are significant factors affecting the number of deaths, while life expectancy is only significant in high-income countries. Higher health expenditure is associated with more reported deaths in both high- and low-income countries. Factors such as the transport infrastructure system, life expectancy and the percent of expenditure on health lead to the differences in the number of deaths between high- and low-income countries.
Social implications
Our study shows that mobility measures taken by individuals to limit the spread of the virus are important to prevent deaths in both high- and low-income countries. Additionally, our results suggest that countries with weak health institutions underestimate the number of deaths from COVID-19, especially low-income countries. The underestimation of COVID-19 deaths could be affecting a great number of people in poverty in low-income economies.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the emerging literature on COVID-19 and its relation to socio-economic factors by examining the differences in reported between deaths between rates in low-income and high-income countries.
Details
Keywords
Thomas Li‐Ping Tang, Roberto Luna‐Arocas, Toto Sutarso and David Shin‐Hsiung Tang
This research examines the love of money as a moderator and as a mediator of the self‐reported income‐pay satisfaction relationship among university professors (lecturers)…
Abstract
This research examines the love of money as a moderator and as a mediator of the self‐reported income‐pay satisfaction relationship among university professors (lecturers). Hierarchical multiple regression results showed that the interaction effect between self‐reported income and the love of money on pay satisfaction was significant. For high‐love‐of‐money professors (lecturers), the relationship between income and pay satisfaction was positive and significant, however, for low‐love‐of‐money professors (lecturers), the relationship was not significant. High‐love‐of‐money participants had lower pay satisfaction than low‐love‐of‐money participants when the self‐reported income was below $89,139.53. When income was higher than $89,139.53, the pattern of pay satisfaction was reversed. Further, the love of money was a mediator of the self‐reported income‐pay satisfaction relationship. Income increases the love of money that, in turn, is used as a “frame of reference” to evaluate pay satisfaction.
Details
Keywords
Carlo Capuano, Iacopo Grassi and Giacomo Valletta
We propose a simple model consisting of two separated markets: the market for good y and the market for good x. Purchasing information about consumer behavior in the former market…
Abstract
We propose a simple model consisting of two separated markets: the market for good y and the market for good x. Purchasing information about consumer behavior in the former market helps the monopolist firm, in the latter market, to price-discriminate. Consumers differ in their income and in their level of myopia. Personal data market regulation could both increase consumers' awareness about the treatment of their data and allow them to have their data erased from the data holder. We find that the former aspect of the policy reduces the number of transactions, and hence tends to reduce total surplus, while the second typically boosts willingness to pay of consumers and has positive effects on surplus, provided that the share of high-income consumers is not too high. The overall effect of regulation on total welfare depends on the share of high-income and myopic consumers.
Details
Keywords
Marianne Johnson and Warren J. Samuels
“Economics is a Serious Subject.” Edwin Cannan.
John Creedy and Patrick Francois
Examines, using a simple model, the choice of appropriatecontributions of taxes and fees used to finance higher education. Atwo‐period model is developed in which individuals in…
Abstract
Examines, using a simple model, the choice of appropriate contributions of taxes and fees used to finance higher education. A two‐period model is developed in which individuals in cohort invest in higher education in the first period, and the interdependences between educational choice and the tax system are considered. The implications of majority voting and the maximization of a social welfare function, allowing for a trade‐off between equity and efficiency, are examined in progressive and proportional tax systems.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to contribute to the existing literature by empirically investigating the impact of digital competitiveness and technology on corruption under the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to contribute to the existing literature by empirically investigating the impact of digital competitiveness and technology on corruption under the moderating effect of some cultural and economic control variables and providing evidence on the links between corruption and various cultural dimensions at the country level.
Design/methodology/approach
The cross-sectional sample covers 61 countries (41 high-income and 20 lower-income countries) during the 2016–2020 period, and the analysis was carried out for both the full sample and the subsamples.
Findings
The results provide clear evidence supporting the hypothesis that digitalisation and technology significantly affect the perceived level of corruption under the moderating role of cultural framework and economic development. Furthermore, the most significant cultural dimensions of corruption are individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and indulgence versus restraint, even if, in some cases, its influence might be felt differently when the results are estimated on subsamples. Thus, in the case of indulgence versus restraint, high-income countries with higher indulgence scores would register higher scores for the corruption perception index and thus a better control of corruption, while for lower-income countries, the more indulgent these countries are, the weaker the corruption control will be. Furthermore, our results validate a powerful and significant correlation between the index of economic freedom and corruption in both digitalisation and technology.
Research limitations/implications
This study may have relevant implications for policymakers who need to recognise the role of digitalisation and technology in the fight against corruption but considering the cultural and economic characteristics specific to each country.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, the relationship between digital competitiveness, technology and corruption within an economic and cultural framework, while highlighting the differences between high-income and lower-income countries, has not been previously documented in the literature. Thus, this article argues that the level of digital competitiveness and the adoption of technology would significantly impact the level of perceived corruption, although this impact could be felt differently by countries in the high-income category compared to countries in the lower-level income category.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to examine whether emigration of high-skilled labor creates a positive effect in the home country by generating multi-country joint patent relationships between…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether emigration of high-skilled labor creates a positive effect in the home country by generating multi-country joint patent relationships between home and destination country-pairs.
Design/methodology/approach
A panel of data that uniquely captures the country of origin of patent applicants is used to assess if and how high-skilled emigration contributes to the prevalence of multi-country joint patents in a country. The analysis is conducted both in aggregate and across sub-samples based on the per capita income level of the home country. Finally, the role of absorptive capacity as a control variable is robustly considered.
Findings
Results suggest that emigration of high-skilled labor positively impacts the prevalence of multi-country joint patent ownership when emigration originates from middle- and high-income countries. Support for such “brain gain” via knowledge sharing in innovation is absent when high-skilled labor emigrates from low-income countries.
Originality/value
The analysis highlights a specific avenue by which the home country benefits from high-skilled emigration. It also provides comparative analysis across home countries of different income levels, which can provide insight into the external validity of papers using high-income country samples of innovative performance when assessing knowledge spillovers.
Details
Keywords
The paper aims to examine the reality of, and, conditions for economic growth for former Soviet and Soviet Block economies with special attention to Ukraine and the Russian…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine the reality of, and, conditions for economic growth for former Soviet and Soviet Block economies with special attention to Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Many of these economies' transition from “Communism” remain plagued by problems of institutional design and outcomes characterized by high levels of corruption and low levels of accountability and transparency. The purpose of this paper is to analyze aspects of these socio‐economic realities in the context of contemporary economic theory and ongoing revisions to it.
Design/methodology/approach
The type of economic theory used to assess issues of transition has significant implications for public policy. Conventional economic theory has traditionally focused on secure private property rights, competitive markets, inclusive of “flexible” labor markets, as the necessary if not the sufficient conditions to successfully and quickly transition from command style to market economies. Little attention is paid to the details of institutional design. The paper applies a behavioral‐institutional analytical framework to analyze important aspects of failures and successes in transition economies using both economic and governance data sets.
Findings
The paper finds that traditional measures of economic freedom are far from sufficient to generate economic growth. Accountability and transparency in governance structures is also required. Economic failure and success are closely connected with overall performance in socio‐economic governance. Also an unnecessary emphasis on low wages, highly constrained social safety nets and labor market policy impedes successful growth and development.
Practical implications
Transition economies' economic performance can be significantly enhanced through improvements in institutional design that facilitates the evolution of high‐wage market economies. The market in and of itself does not suffice to generate successful transitions from command to vibrant market economies.
Originality/value
This paper provides an original exposé and analysis of transition economies from a behavioral‐institutionalist perspective, with important public policy implications.
Details