This working paper: (i) provides an overview of global, regional and national income inequalities based on the latest distribution data from the World Bank, UNU-WIDER and Eurostat; (ii) discusses the negative implications of rising income inequality for development; (iii) calls for placing...

This paper analyzes the effect of changes in structural progressivity of national income tax systems on observed and actual income inequality. Using several unique measures of progressivity over the 1981-2005 period for a large panel of countries, we find that progressivity reduces inequality in...

This paper analyzes the effect of changes in structural progressivity of national income tax systems on observed and actual income inequality. Using several unique measures of progressivity over the 1981-2005 period for a large panel of countries, we find that progressivity reduces inequality in...

A customary gender division of labor is one in which women and men are directed towards certain tasks and/or explicitly prohibited from performing others. We offer an explanation as to why the gender division of labor is so often enforced by custom, and why customary gender divisions of labor...

While economic growth has been cited as one of the main factors behind the reduction in absolute poverty, the persisting problem of poverty in developing countries has raised doubts about the efficacy of economic growth in its reduction. Recent evidence revealed that growth in Asia has been...

This paper examines income inequality in rural India in 1993 and 2005. It attempts to ascertain the contribution of different income sources to overall income inequality, and change in their relative importance between 1993 and 2005 through decomposition of Gini coefficient. The paper finds that...

While economic growth has been cited as one of the main factors behind the reduction in absolute poverty, the persisting problem of poverty in developing countries has raised doubts about the efficacy of economic growth in its reduction. Recent evidence revealed that growth in Asia has been...

Latin American countries are generally characterized as displaying high income and earnings inequality overall along with high inequality by gender, race, and ethnicity. However, the latter phenomenon is not a major contributor to the former phenomenon. Using household survey data from four...

This study analyses EU-28- and euro area-level income distribution with the latest EU-SILC data. More specifically it shows the evolution of inequality in net disposable and market incomes over the pre- and post-crisis period (2006-2013). I find that inequality between the EU-28 and euro area...

This study analyses EU-28- and euro area-level income distribution with the latest EU-SILC data. More specifically it shows the evolution of inequality in net disposable and market incomes over the pre- and post-crisis period (2006-2013). I find that inequality between the EU-28 and euro area...