On Income Inequality and Population Size
Journal Title: Thammasat Review of Economic and Social Policy - Year 2016, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
The pursuit of having an appropriate level of income inequality should be viewed as one of the biggest challenges facing academic scholars as well as policy makers. Unfortunately, research on this issue is currently lacking. This study is the first to introduce the theoretical concept of targeted level of income inequality for a given size of population. By employing the World Bank’s data on population size and Gini coefficient from sixty-nine countries in 2012, this study finds that the relationship between Gini coefficient and natural logarithm of population size is nonlinear in the form of a second degree polynomial function. The estimated results using regression analysis show that the majority of countries in the sample have Gini coefficients either too high or too low compared to their appropriate values. These findings could be used as a guideline for policy makers before designing and implementing public policies in order to achieve the targeted level of income inequality.
Authors and Affiliations
Thitithep Sitthiyot, Kanyarat Holasut
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP553689
- DOI 10.14456/tresp.2016.8
- Views 115
- Downloads 0
Market Expansion, Political Relationship and Geographical Inequality in the Early Rattanakosin Siam: A Theoretical Perspective
This paper provides a simple theoretical model that explains a mechanism for which market economy might proliferate through various geographical locations in the early Rattanakosin Siam and its implication on locational...
Commentary Note on Thailand’s Current Inequality Situation and Its Prospects
I became interested in economic aspects of inequality because economic inequalities underlie inequality of power, social position, and access to resources of all kinds, including good education, a fair trial and a decent...
Sabotage and Deterrence Incentive in Tournament: An Experimental Investigation and Policy Implications
This research analyzes the impact of deterrence incentive on sabotage behavior in rank-order tournament using experimental method. Laboratory findings confirm Becker’s deterrence hypothesis in a tournament setting. Imple...
Mitigating of Financing Constraints in the Thai Banking System
The objective of this article is to analyze the development in mitigation of “financing constraints” in Thai banking system for both corporate and household sectors since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, which was a g...
Fiscal Decentralization and Intergovernmental Transfer in Thailand
Decentralization in Thailand occurred hastily and remains relatively untested after the promulgation of the 1997 Constitution. The decentralization act of 1999 mandated the government to transfer revenue to LAOs, reshapi...