Peripherality, Income Inequality, and Economic Development in Latin American Countries

Yoshimichi Murakami and Nobuaki Hamaguchi

No DP2017-08, Discussion Paper Series from Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University

Abstract: Following a neo-structuralist perspective, this study presents a development puzzle concept for Latin American countries (LACs) as a triangular relation amongst peripherality (increased terms-of-trade volatility and technological backwardness), income inequality, and per-capita income. We employ a simultaneous equation model using three-stage least squares (3SLS) to analyse this triangular relation. We find that a decrease in income inequality and an increase in per-capita income were mutually reinforcing in 14 LACs during 1995–2014. Although technological progress increases per-capita income, it partly mitigates this increase by increasing income inequality. Additionally, the increasing effects of foreign sources of technology, including foreign direct investment (FDI), on income inequality are mitigated in countries with higher technological capabilities. While an improvement in commodity terms-of-trade expectedly increases per-capita income and decreases income inequality in South American countries, their volatility is mostly insignificant.

Keywords: Commodity terms-of-trade; Volatility; Technological progress; Foreign direct investment (FDI); Neo-structuralism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2017-03, Revised 2020-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pke
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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https://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp/academic/ra/dp/English/DP2017-08.pdf Revised version, 2020 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Peripherality, income inequality, and economic development in Latin American countries (2021)
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