This research suggests that the distribution of land within and across countries affected the nature of the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy generating diverging growth patterns across countries. Land abundance, which was beneficial in early stages of development, generated in later stages a hurdle for human capital accumulation and economic growth among countries in which l...

This Article explores the optimal level of income redistribution by examining the potential welfare gains from redistributive tax and spending policies. Drawing on recent research on human happiness, this Article argues that while wealthy nations are generally happier than their poorer counterparts, neither national nor individual economic growth appear to have an appreciable impact on the subj...

As the world's most populous country with the largest aging population and a rapidly growing economy, China is receiving increased attention from both the Chinese government and the governments of other countries that face low fertility and aging problems. This unprecedented shift of demographic structure has repercussions for many aspects of development including economic growth, social welfar...

Hecksher-Ohlin model predicts that gains to trade should flow to abundant factors, which suggests that in developing countries, unskilled labor would benefit most from trade liberalization. The rising skill-premium in the US is often cited in support of standard trade theory. However, these predictions have been challenged by Cunat and Maffezzoli (2001) and Kremer and Maskin (2003). According t...

We study the impact of the rise in female labor supply on the economic performance of the United States over the period 1967–2002 through the lens of a calibrated structural model. The model features all the key forces behind the increase in female participation (the “Quiet Revolution”): (1) the decline in marriage rates, (2) the narrowing gender wage gap, (3) the preference (or cultural) shift...

Drawing on the author’s work, this lecture presents evidence on U.S. income and wealth inequality. It presents series for top income and wealth shares, and the distribution of economic growth by income groups. It discusses the mechanisms behind the evolution of U.S. income and wealth inequality from historical and comparative perspectives. It analyzes the role of public policy and in particular...

Several economic models have described the theoretical causes and consequences of ‘credit rationing’ and ‘under-investment. This literature shows the long-run effects of initial wealth distribution and entrepreneurial ability on the process of occupational choice and performance, and its consequences on inequality. Surprisingly, there is very little micro-level evidence on the existence and eff...

South Africa is characterized by significant inequality in spatial economic activity. Whether future growth and development on a subnational level in South Africa will be such as to reduce this inequality may depend on the economic growth and development of South Africa’s largest cities. Our local economic growth empirics show some indications of conditional convergence in output between poorer...

The interrelation between changes in the economic structure, i.e., industrial distribution of income and labor force, and the size distribution of income i s studied in this paper in a case study of India (1951-1980). The change in the size distribution of income i s the sum of changes due to ( 1 ) inter-sectoral factors and ( 2 ) intra-sectoral factors. The need for this distinction i s emphas...

Growing income inequality within a country is caused by socioeconomic factors and inadequate government policies and ultimately leads to social and political instabilities. The ideology of supply-side economics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1980s, for instance, induced policies of inequality which were then perceived as a way to stimulate economic growth. The demise of ...