Wealth inequality, entrepreneurship and industrialization

Sahana Roy Chowdhury

Journal of Economics, 2013, vol. 108, issue 1, 102 pages

Abstract: The paper shows that in a two-good economy with a basic and a luxury good sector inequality is indeed a hindrance to provide sufficient incentive for entrepreneurship to low-wealth economic agents. In contrast to the literature it uses both demand and supply-side explanations for the analysis. An entrepreneurial subsidy policy to encourage entrepreneurship in autarky financed by a lump sum tax on the rich is not very effective in unequal economies since it hardly impacts the welfare. When trade is opened up in the luxury good sector of such an economy the sector might cease to exist. In such a scenario, the rich people being the sole consumers would reap the entire benefits of globalization via low price of the imported luxury good. The paper highlights that the crucial question is: ‘how to globalize’ rather than ‘whether to globalize’ and suggests policy measures to make globalization inclusive. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013

Keywords: Inequality; Entrepreneurship; Industrialization; Trade; Welfare; D31; D60; D63; H30; J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jeczfn:v:108:y:2013:i:1:p:81-102

DOI: 10.1007/s00712-012-0268-6

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