Social Consequences of Economic Segregation

Yoonseok Lee, Donggyun Shin, Kwanho Shin
Additional contact information
Yoonseok Lee, Donggyun Shin, Kwanho Shin: Syracuse University, Kyung Hee University, Korea University
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Donggyun Shin, Kwanho Shin and Yoonseok Lee

Korean Economic Review, 2013, vol. 29, 189-210

Abstract: The empirical literature has not been successful in generating robust results for a positive relationship between income inequality and social unrest outcomes such as crime and suicide. This paper questions the use of standard income inequality measures (e.g., Gini coefficient) in such studies and shows that income-mobility-based measures are effective in explaining outcomes of social unrest. Analyses of Korean and the United States region-byyear data suggest that crime and suicide rates are better explained by income immobility (i.e., the degree of economic segregation) rather than the inequality aspects of income distribution. The explanatory power improves as a heavier weight is placed on the poor group's degree of immobility. Findings in the current study will be helpful for guiding future efforts to develop more effective measures of social unrest.

Keywords: Immobility; Inequality; Social Unrest (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C10 D63 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://keapaper.kea.ne.kr/RePEc/kea/keappr/KER-20130630-29-1-09.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kea:keappr:ker-20130630-29-1-09

Access Statistics for this article

Korean Economic Review is currently edited by Kyung Hwan Baik

More articles in Korean Economic Review from Korean Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by KEA ().