 The Distribution of Wealth and the Pace of DevelopmentAmy Ickowitz Chapter 5 in Studies in Development Strategy and Systemic Transformation, 2000, pp 66-91 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract Economists have long been interested in the relationship between the distribution of income and the rate of economic growth. Two propositions have tended to dominate the literature. The first, associated with the name of Simon Kuznets, asserts that the degree of inequality varies systematically with the level of income per head, initially increasing as incomes rise and then, beyond some point, decreasing with further increases in income per head.1 The second proposition, often associated with Arthur Okun, asserts that there is a ‘great trade-off’ between equality and efficiency and hence policy interventions intended to reduce inequality have a high cost in terms of a lower average income.2 Taken together, the two propositions have been used to argue against public policies intended to create a less unequal society, since the Kuznets proposition indicates that in the long run policy interventions are unnecessary and the Okun proposition indicates that in the short run they are harmful. Keywords: Human Capital; Income Inequality; Gini Coefficient; Physical Capital; Saving Rate (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-51041-8_5 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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