The Rich and the Poor in the European Union and the Great Recession: Some Empirical Evidence

Giuseppina Malerba () and Marta R.M. Spreafico
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Giuseppina Malerba: Institute of Economic Policy, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan
Marta R.M. Spreafico: Institute of Economic Policy, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan

Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 2015, vol. 123, issue 2, 211-242

Abstract: This paper proposes a theoretical framework of the factors that affect the gap between the rich and the poor in the European Union. It uses a twelve-year panel data set from 2002 to 2012 of 27 countries to determine the short-term effects of the macroeconomic performance, the level of household income inequality, and the social protection expenditure on the extremes of the income distribution, controlling for several structural factors of income disparity. The impact of these variables on the shares of income separately accruing to the bottom, median and top household income is estimated. It is found that the three core determinants have a different impact before the Great Recession of 2008 and during the crisis years, and a different public commitment towards reducing disparities depending on the type of welfare regime.

Keywords: European Union; Great Recession; Household disposable income distribution; Income inequality; Structural determinants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 D31 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vep:journl:y:2015:v:123:i:2:p:211-242

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