Demand Composition and Income Distribution

Demand Composition and Income Distribution
Author: David Pothier
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2014-12-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498300987

This paper highlights how changes in the composition of demand affect income dispersion in the short run. We first document how the share of aggregate spending dedicated to labour-intensive goods and services shrinks (expands) during downturns (booms), and argue that this contributes to the observed pro-cyclicality of employment and output in labour-intensive industries. Using a two-sector general equilibrium model, we then assess how this demand composition channel influences the cyclical properties of the income distribution. Consistent with empirical evidence, we find income inequality to be countercyclical due to changes in the level of employment and (to a lesser extent) relative factor prices. The model also shows that wealth redistribution policies can potentially involve a trade-off between equality and output, depending on how they affect the composition of aggregate demand.

Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality

Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality
Author: Ms.Era Dabla-Norris
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 39
Release: 2015-06-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513547437

This paper analyzes the extent of income inequality from a global perspective, its drivers, and what to do about it. The drivers of inequality vary widely amongst countries, with some common drivers being the skill premium associated with technical change and globalization, weakening protection for labor, and lack of financial inclusion in developing countries. We find that increasing the income share of the poor and the middle class actually increases growth while a rising income share of the top 20 percent results in lower growth—that is, when the rich get richer, benefits do not trickle down. This suggests that policies need to be country specific but should focus on raising the income share of the poor, and ensuring there is no hollowing out of the middle class. To tackle inequality, financial inclusion is imperative in emerging and developing countries while in advanced economies, policies should focus on raising human capital and skills and making tax systems more progressive.

Inequality, Leverage and Crises

Inequality, Leverage and Crises
Author: Mr.Michael Kumhof
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 39
Release: 2010-11-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1455210757

The paper studies how high leverage and crises can arise as a result of changes in the income distribution. Empirically, the periods 1920-1929 and 1983-2008 both exhibited a large increase in the income share of the rich, a large increase in leverage for the remainder, and an eventual financial and real crisis. The paper presents a theoretical model where these features arise endogenously as a result of a shift in bargaining powers over incomes. A financial crisis can reduce leverage if it is very large and not accompanied by a real contraction. But restoration of the lower income group's bargaining power is more effective.

Wage-Led Growth

Wage-Led Growth
Author: Engelbert Stockhammer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1137357932

This volume seeks to go beyond the microeconomic view of wages as a cost having negative consequences on a given firm, to consider the positive macroeconomic dynamics associated with wages as a major component of aggregate demand.

Innocent Bystanders? Monetary Policy and Inequality in the U.S.

Innocent Bystanders? Monetary Policy and Inequality in the U.S.
Author: Mr.Olivier Coibion
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 57
Release: 2012-08-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475505493

We study the effects and historical contribution of monetary policy shocks to consumption and income inequality in the United States since 1980. Contractionary monetary policy actions systematically increase inequality in labor earnings, total income, consumption and total expenditures. Furthermore, monetary shocks can account for a significant component of the historical cyclical variation in income and consumption inequality. Using detailed micro-level data on income and consumption, we document the different channels via which monetary policy shocks affect inequality, as well as how these channels depend on the nature of the change in monetary policy.

Links Between Growth, Inequality, and Poverty: A Survey

Links Between Growth, Inequality, and Poverty: A Survey
Author: Ms. Valerie Cerra
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 54
Release: 2021-03-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513572660

Is there a tradeoff between raising growth and reducing inequality and poverty? This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the complex links between growth, inequality, and poverty, with causation going in both directions. The evidence suggests that growth can be effective in reducing poverty, but its impact on inequality is ambiguous and depends on the underlying sources of growth. The impact of poverty and inequality on growth is likewise ambiguous, as several channels mediate the relationship. But most plausible mechanisms suggest that poverty and inequality reduce growth, at least in the long run. Policies play a role in shaping these relationships and those designed to improve equality of opportunity can simultaneously improve inclusiveness and growth.

U.S./Japan Foreign Trade

U.S./Japan Foreign Trade
Author: Rita E. Neri
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2018-02-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351377450

This bibliography, first published in 1988, consists of annotated entries of monographs and journal articles published in English that discuss socio-economic aspects of Japanese society as well as the general and economic dynamics of United States-Japan trade relations. Emphasis is on the Japanese perspective.