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,单击此处编辑母版标题样式,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,第二级,第三级,第四级,第五级,*,TEXT,Growing Inequality,The degree of income inequality varies greatly from region to region.It is greatest in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa,and lowest in Eastern Europe;other regions fall between these two extremes.In Latin America,the average Gini coefficientthe most commonly used measure of inequality,with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing total inequalityis almost 0.5.The average Gini coefficient in sub-Saharan Africa is slightly lower,but there is considerable variation among countries.Income inequality has a regional dimension in both Africa and Latin Americaaverage incomes are significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas.,Unit NineShould Equity Be a Goal of Economic Policy?,Unit NineShould Equity Be aGoal of Economic Policy?,In recent years,income inequalityhas been increasing in a large number of countries.Thisincrease hasbeen most striking inthe transition economies,where the average Ginicoefficient had beenaround0.25 until the late1980s;by themid1990s,ithad risen to more than 0.30.Whilethis may not appear to be alarge increase,it isquitesignificant for the short period being assessed.Gini coefficients tend to berelatively stable incountries over longperiods.Income inequality has alsoincreased inseveralmajorindustrial countriesand isbeginning to increasein some EastAsian countries.,Unit NineShould Equity Be aGoal of Economic Policy?,Much ofthe debate about income distribution hascentered on wage earnings.But wages tellonly part of the story.Thedistribution of wealth(and,by implication,capital income)ismore concentrated than labor income.In Africa and Latin America,unequal ownershipof land has been identifiedas animportant factor in the overall distribution of income.Furthermore,in recent years,therehas been a shift from laborto capital income(including income fromself employment)in many countries.In transitioncountries,this shift has been dueprimarily tothe privatization ofstate-owned assets.The analysis oftrendsin nonlabor income in countries with welldeveloped capital markets and pension funds is more complicated.Pension funds andother financial institutionsreceive a sizable portion of capital income,andthe share ofcapitalincomein total household income typically changes overthe life cycle of the individualsin eachhousehold.,Unit NineShould Equity Be aGoal of Economic Policy?,Is Globalization theCause?,Globalizationhas linked thelabor,product,andcapitalmarkets of economiesaroundthe world.Increasedtrade,capital and labor movements,and technological progresshave led to greaterspecializationin productionand the dispersion of specializedproduction processesto geographically distant locations.Developing countries,withtheirabundant supply of unskilledlabor,have acomparative advantage relative todeveloped countries in the production of unskilled-labor-intensive goods andservices.As aresult,production of theseproducts in developed countries has comeunder increased competitivepressure.Economic theory tells usthis should apply downward pressureon therelative compensation of unskilledworkers in developedcountries andupwardpressure on the compensation of their counterparts in developing countries.,Unit NineShould EquityBea GoalofEconomicPolicy?,Basedonthis theory,someauthors haveclaimedthat globalizationistoblamefor growingincome inequalityindeveloped countries.Others argue thatthe widening gapbetween thewagesofskilled workersand unskilledworkers in thedevelopedcountries is duetothedevelopmentand dispersionofskill-intensive technologiesratherthantoincreasedtrade.Severalempirical studieshavetriedtogaugetherelativeimportanceofboth trade andtechnological progress in thedecline of relative wages of unskilledworkers in developedcountries.Estimatesofthecontribution of increasedtradetothetotalincreaseofthe wagedifferential betweenunskilled andskilled workersrangefromnegligible to 50 percent.Thislargevariation is afunctionofthe structureofproduction in developedcountriesand theshareoftheirlabormarketthatisindirectcompetitionwithlow-skilledworkers in developingcountries.,Unit NineShould EquityBe a Goal ofEconomic Policy?,The debate regarding theeffect of globalizationon income distributionin developing countriesmirrors thedebateon developed countries.Although,all other things being equal,increased opennesswouldbe expectedto increasethe relativewagesof unskilled workers indevelopingcountries,experience has beenmixed.Evidence suggests thatthe relative wages of unskilled workers increased inEast Asian countries inthe 1960s and 1970s butdecreased inLatinAmerica inthe 1980s and early 1990s.There aretwo possible explanations forwhy wages fell inLatinAmerica:first,the opening up of developing Asian countriesBangladesh,China,India,Indonesia,andPakistanwhere unskilled labor is even more abundant;second,theavailability of new production technologies that arebiasedtoward skilled labor.,Unit NineShould EquityBe a Goal ofEconomic Policy?,The effect gl
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