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1 – 10 of over 5000Brazil’s regional inequality is an important topic due to the large and persistent differences in development between states and the high levels of inequality in the country…
Abstract
Purpose
Brazil’s regional inequality is an important topic due to the large and persistent differences in development between states and the high levels of inequality in the country. These variations in development can potentially render survey data inaccurate since the significance of capital income varies across the states. Besides, previous studies incorporating tax and national accounts data globally have mainly focused on measuring the income distribution at the country-level. This approach can limit the understanding of inequality, especially when considering large countries such as Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used to construct these estimates follows the guidelines of the Distributional National Accounts, whose core goal is to provide income distribution measures consistent with macroeconomic aggregates and harmonized across countries and time. The procedure has three main steps: first, it corrects the survey’s underrepresentation of top incomes using tax data. Then, it accounts for national income items not included in the survey or tax data, such as imputed rents and undistributed profits. Finally, it ensures that all components match the national income.
Findings
Compared to survey-based estimations, the results reveal a new angle on the state-level inequality. This study indicates that Amazonas, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have a more concentrated income distribution. The top 1\% of earners in these states receives around 28\% of total pre-tax income, while the top 10\% receive nearly 60\%. On the other end, Amapá (AP), Acre (AC), Rondônia (RO) and Santa Catarina (SC) are the states where the income distribution is less concentrated. There were no significant changes in the income distribution across the states during the period analyzed.
Originality/value
This study combines survey, tax and national accounts data to construct new estimates of Brazil’s state-level income distribution from 2006 to 2019. Previous results only considered income captured in surveys, which usually misses a significant part of capital incomes. This limitation may bias comparisons as capital income has different importance across the states. The new estimates represent the income of top groups more accurately, account for the entire national income and enable to compare regional inequality levels consistently with other countries.
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Sudharshan Reddy Paramati and Thanh Pham Thien Nguyen
This paper explores the effect of tourism (national and international) indicators on income inequality in a sample of 21 Asia Pacific economies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the effect of tourism (national and international) indicators on income inequality in a sample of 21 Asia Pacific economies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses panel data set from 1995 to 2020 and employs panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method for the empirical investigation.
Findings
The empirical findings from the panel ARDL models suggest that all of the considered tourism indicators have significant negative impacts on income inequalities. The results remain consistent with alternative indicators and methods.
Social implications
The findings of this study will be critical for the policymakers to take effective measures to reduce the income inequality. Such measures could include promoting tourism in general, focusing on attracting international tourists or domestic tourists, and putting more weight on developing leisure or business tourism, which will boost the overall economic performance and alleviates inequalities in the society.
Originality/value
This is the first study to consider various forms of tourism indicators to see their impact on income inequality in the Asia–Pacific region, and offers important implications for the policy actions.
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During the Communist Party of China's endeavors over the past century, China has created “two miracles,” namely, large-scale and rapid economic development and long-term social…
Abstract
Purpose
During the Communist Party of China's endeavors over the past century, China has created “two miracles,” namely, large-scale and rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
Design/methodology/approach
The causes for China's achieving the “two miracles” lie in the adherence to the Party's leadership as the political guarantee, the scientific theoretical guidance as the ideological guarantee, the socialist system as well as the national governance system as the institutional guarantee and giving full play of people's creativity under the Party's leadership as the driving force guarantee.
Findings
From a political economy point of view, the theoretical logic behind the creation of the “two miracles” is that the combination of the state capacity and the scaling up of markets under the Party's leadership contributes to the rapid economic development and further the long-term social stability based on the financial foundation laid by rapid economic development. The historical experience of the “Two Miracles” can be summed up as the cultivation of state capacity under the leadership of the Party, the synergy and complementarity between the central government and local governments, the combination of development planning and market mechanisms, and the coordination of selective, functional and inclusive industrial policies.
Originality/value
It is necessary to judge future development trends from a medium and long-term development perspective, further promote the co-evolution of the state and the market, reshape the growth regime for high-quality development, fully tap the potential of domestic demand and create a “people-centered” economic development model so as to continue the “two miracles” and achieve a miracle of high-quality development in the second century.
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Abdul Rashid, Farooq Ahmad, Sarir Ud Din and Shar Zaman
This paper aims to explore the impact of corruption (CP) on income inequality (IN) by considering the size of informal sector (IFS) at different levels of percentiles.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impact of corruption (CP) on income inequality (IN) by considering the size of informal sector (IFS) at different levels of percentiles.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a panel quantile regression approach for a sample of 50 developing countries. The study also applies panel co-integration (Kao residual co-integration test) in order to examine the long-run relationship between CP and IN.
Findings
This paper using a panel quantile regression approach shows that the high incidence of IFS in an economy marginalizes CP's positive effect because it works as a source of poor peoples' livelihood and skillful individuals. The spread of IFSs in the developing economies may raise earnings among groups and individuals who remain unemployed. Moreover, the results show that CP creates asymmetry in income distribution; fascinatingly, the asymmetric income distribution is high when CP is at higher percentiles.
Research limitations/implications
Due to non-availability of IFS, we restrict our analysis up to 50 developing countries.
Practical implications
CP devastates the effectiveness of institutions over time. Therefore, the government should have to take bold steps to reduce CP in society. Another policy implication of this study is that the government should reduce CP to decrease IN in less developing countries. Moreover, to increase the net base, the authorities need to bring IFS under the umbrella of regulation to avoid inequality in society. In developing economies, a higher part of labor force is related to IFS; therefore, our findings suggest a dire need to reduce labor exploitation in IFS. The policymakers can reduce labor exploitation by reducing the size of IFS, which ultimately reduces IN.
Social implications
On the basis of the authors’ findings, this paper further suggests that it is mandatory for government to reduce CP in order to reduce IN. Moreover, to reduce IN, one needs to reduce the size of IFS.
Originality/value
This study is unique as it is the first that examined the role of IFS in establishing the effect of CP on IN for developing countries at different percentiles.
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George Okechukwu Onatu, Wellington Didibhuku Thwala and Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa
The pervasive impact of the COVID-19 virus on the food services sector in India has created conditions for fundamentally altering the structure of the industry. This paper offers…
Abstract
Purpose
The pervasive impact of the COVID-19 virus on the food services sector in India has created conditions for fundamentally altering the structure of the industry. This paper offers a nuanced evaluation of the transfiguration of the market, explaining descriptive views supported by numerous secondary data sources.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a self-driven study grounded in secondary data. Qualitative and quantitative assessments are assimilated from credible market research reports of multiple agencies in the Indian context, as well as news developments during the pandemic period.
Findings
Digitally pivoted platforms such as cloud kitchens and delivery aggregators will eclipse all other formats due to the potential long-term prevalence of the COVID-19 virus. These formats would rise to a dominant position in the Indian food services sector in the coming decade.
Research limitations/implications
This study is entirely driven by secondary data due to the inherent difficulties of collecting sizeable and good quality primary data as a result of the lengthy and stringent lockdowns imposed across India. Future studies should consider collecting consumer responses to get a better picture of changing dining habits in the post-pandemic scenario.
Practical implications
The dynamic and evolving food services in India, catalyzed by the Internet and digital technologies will help academicians study the long-term implications of this change, and how it would impact society at large. The paper provides a rich body of contemporary data and analysis in the food services sphere.
Social implications
The COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term persistence would dramatically alter food service consumption across India. This will not only change how the industry is structured, but will reshape how food is consumed into the future.
Originality/value
The study is a holistic examination of the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic and the food services industry in India. The macro perspectives aided by news coverage and industry research would help generate potential research questions on its own merits.
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Leandro Pinheiro Vieira and Rafael Mesquita Pereira
This study aims to investigate the effect of smoking on the income of workers in the Brazilian labor market.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of smoking on the income of workers in the Brazilian labor market.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the 2019 National Health Survey (PNS), we initially address the sample selection bias concerning labor market participation by using the Heckman (1979) method. Subsequently, the decomposition of income between smokers and nonsmokers is analyzed, both on average and across the earnings distribution by employing the procedure of Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009) - FFL decomposition. Ñopo (2008) technique is also used to obtain more robust estimates.
Findings
Overall, the findings indicate an income penalty for smokers in the Brazilian labor market across both the average and all quantiles of the income distribution. Notably, the most significant differentials and income penalties against smokers are observed in the lower quantiles of the distribution. Conversely, in the higher quantiles, there is a tendency toward a smaller magnitude of this gap, with limited evidence of an income penalty associated with this habit.
Research limitations/implications
This study presents an important limitation, which refers to a restriction of the PNS (2019), which does not provide information about some subjective factors that also tend to influence the levels of labor income, such as the level of effort and specific ability of each worker, whether smokers or not, something that could also, in some way, be related to some latent individual predisposition that would influence the choice of smoking.
Originality/value
The relevance of the present study is clear in identifying the heterogeneity of the income gap in favor of nonsmokers, as in the lower quantiles there was a greater magnitude of differentials against smokers and a greater incidence of unexplained penalties in the income of these workers, while in the higher quantiles, there was low magnitude of the differentials and little evidence that there is a penalty in earnings since the worker is a smoker.
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Harold Delfín Angulo Bustinza, Bruno de Souza and Roberto De la Cruz Rojas
João Fragoso Januário, Carlos Oliveira Cruz, Humberto Varum and Vítor Faria e Sousa
From the perspective of housing affordability, Portugal is an interesting case study, considering that Portugal ranks 5th in terms of price-to-income ratio and has experienced…
Abstract
Purpose
From the perspective of housing affordability, Portugal is an interesting case study, considering that Portugal ranks 5th in terms of price-to-income ratio and has experienced, since 2015, a significant increase in real estate prices.
Design/methodology/approach
The provision of housing is a critical social development factor. With the growing worldwide urbanization and the demand pressure over real estate in many cities, the problem of affordability has gained increase attention by policy makers. Housing affordability is hardly a new topic from a literature perspective, but the recent post-pandemic worldwide inflation growth has re-centered affordability as key topic in the housing agenda. This paper provides a comprehensive overview on past literature and a detailed analysis on the Portuguese market at the municipal level, by analyzing the changes in housing affordability in recent years.
Findings
Despite this growth, overall, affordability has improved. The study also shows the importance of municipal-level analysis, given the significant geographical differences. The authors' study confirms that many municipalities, outside metropolitan areas, exhibit low levels of affordability. Nevertheless, markets with higher average real estate values tend to exhibit even lower affordability, outpacing the higher levels of income.
Originality/value
Previous studies have focused on affordability issues on a national or highly aggregated level or focusing only on the two largest metropolitan areas in the country. This paper provides a deeper understanding on the inequalities of housing affordability between Portuguese municipalities.
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