Narrow Results

This paper develops the Two-Country HANK model to analyze the impact of tariffs on economic variables and wealth distribution from both macro and micro perspectives. In Macro analysis, trade wars are likely to only exist in situations of asymmetry between the two countries. In Micro analysis, differences in consumption, investment, and labor decisions between the poor and the rich, resulting from different capital stocks, reshape the wealth structure. In a symmetric economy, on the investment side, the rigid constraint imposed by the level of capital stock leads to inconsistent investment behavior in illiquid assets between the poor and the rich. On the consumption side, tariff increases primarily suppress the consumption of imported goods by the poor, while their impact on the consumption of the rich is limited. In an asymmetric economy, the widening gaps in consumption and labor resulting from differential tariff sensitivity between the rich and the poor exacerbate wealth distribution. This paper suggests the implementation of differentiated policies to navigate the economy out of recession.

In this paper, we define $X$-convex and quasi-$X$-convex functions. This class of real functions is the generalization of a family of convex functions. Additionally, we provide a thorough analysis of the core characteristics of these functions in this paper, along with numerous examples that help to illustrate the ideas. Furthermore, quasi-$X$-convex, semistrictly quasi-$X$-convex, and strictly quasi-$X$-convex functions are used to study and show its applications on optimization problems.

This paper is concerned with new generalizations and refinements of the diamond-$\alpha$ integral Cauchy–Schwartz inequality on time scales. The new generalization and refinement of the Cauchy–Schwartz inequality related to diamond integral on time scales are also considered. These obtained inequalities unify continuous inequalities and their corresponding discrete forms associated with Cauchy–Schwartz inequality.

Generalized $s$-convex functions are a new class of generalized convex functions that have been established in this paper. In a similar sense, a new class of generalized $s$-convex sets is introduced as a generalization of $s$-convex sets. Additionally, a number of fundamental characteristics of generalized $s$-convex functions are investigated, both for general and differentiable cases. Furthermore, adequate criteria for optimality are defined for both unconstrained and inequality-constrained programming, and this is demonstrated using generalized $s$-convexity.

Growing disparities in wealth, well-being, and access to services in Kazakhstan have raised serious concerns among policymakers, especially since the January 2022 protests. This paper evaluates these regional inequalities and presents the findings from Kazakhstan’s inaugural well-being survey. The survey, based on global best practices, involves 4,032 face-to-face interviews with a diverse sample across all 20 regions, ensuring representation. The resulting indices—the Subjective Well-Being Index and the Regional Well-Being Index—highlight both within-region and between-region disparities. Notably, the indices reveal significant variations in well-being, with certain regions reporting notably lower satisfaction levels across dimensions like trust in institutions, satisfaction with financial and housing conditions, health care and education quality, and personal security perceptions.

The Jensen, Jensen–Mercer, and Hermite–Hadamard inequalities have been key in advancing convex inequalities for scalars and operators, with several applications in fields like mathematical physics, operator theory and mathematical inequalities. This paper presents a new argument leading to interesting refinements of these celebrated inequalities. Applications that include entropy and operator inequalities will be presented.

We apply spectral radius and norm inequalities to certain $2\times 2$ operator matrices to give simple proofs, refinements and generalizations of known norm inequalities. New norm inequalities are also given. Our analysis uncovers the interplay between different spectral radius and norm inequalities.

Let $A,B,X\in M_n(ℂ)$ such that $A$ and $B$ are positive semidefinite. It is shown that

This gives an affirmative answer to one of the questions posed by Bourin regarding subadditivity inequalities in the case of the trace norm. New norm inequalities related to Bourin's question are also presented.

Let $A$ and $B$ be $n\times n$ positive semi-definite matrices. It is shown that

This paper is a non-technical survey of the literature on offshoring and outsourcing, with special focus on the relevance of this literature for Asia. We first see how and to what extent this new literature helps us understand firms' tradeoffs between outsourcing and integration, the variation in the mixes of organizational forms and the location of outsourced activities. We also explore what plausibly triggers offshoring and thereafter what determines its dynamics. Finally, we draw inferences from the existing theory and empirical work about the developmental impact of offshoring on Asia, with special attention to issues related to inequality and poverty.

The phenomenon of terrorism has riveted world's unwavering attention since 9/11. The underlying study investigates the determinants of terrorism in the South Asian region. Applying negative binomial regression, the study finds that both political structure and economic conditions are responsible for terrorism. On the economic front, relative deprivation represented by income disparity is the major cause of terrorism. On the other hand, deprivation of the people of their political rights and civil liberties, exhibited by political repression, compels them to be involved in terrorist activities. Our findings illustrates that high literacy rate is one of the foremost reason for terrorism in the region.

The puzzle that we address in this paper is why migrants at their destination fare better than non-migrants, across different socio-economic classes in India, while the general perception of migrants is that they are less endowed than the locally residing population. We explain this by the relatively high elite presence among migrants, dualism of Indian migration (between long-term and circular ones), but mainly by the differences in the levels of education. In India, migration has taken an overall color of increasing the nation-wide inequalities (mainly by heightening the rural–urban gap and urban disparities).

This paper explores the dynamics of economic growth, poverty, inequality and migration in Thailand, and evaluates the relevance of Lewis model to Thailand's long-term development. Thai economy seems to follow the latter part of the Kuznets curve since mid-1990s, amidst the global trend of rising internal inequality. Also, Lewis model's predictions were not present, both in the overall pattern of internal migration and the labor market conditions in either urban or rural areas. Dualism in Thailand is better characterized by formal/informal dichotomy. However, the Lewis model can be relevant if modified by including the role of foreign workers.

Relatively little is known about the determinants of inequality in Southeast Asia. This paper fills this void by comprehensively testing Kuznets' hypothesis for Southeast Asia. We estimate both unconditional and conditional Kuznets' curves using panel data for 8 countries. The analysis suggests the existence of a Kuznets' curve with respect to per capita income; the path of inequality is non-linear with respect to economic development. There is no evidence of a Kuznets curve with respect to non-agricultural employment. There is some evidence in terms of urbanization, though this is not robust. There is robust evidence on the role of national governments and education in shaping the path of inequality in the region. Government involvement reduces inequality. Education appears to have a non-linear effect on inequality.

This paper reviews the trends in poverty and inequality in Singapore since independence, as well as policy recommendations adopted through the years, and their results. Poverty is discussed not only in terms of wage earnings, but also in relation to employment conditions, social challenges that pile up together with income poverty, and intergenerational mobility. The paper finds that notwithstanding improvements in early decades, after fifty years, the problems of a social divide and poverty have come full circle. Social policy in Singapore retains its fundamentally productivist philosophical orientation, but the recent deterioration in poverty, inequality and mobility trends is leading to adoption of more welfare-oriented and universalist policy solutions. Social inclusion is now a national priority, and policy redirection for the future needs to take place in wide-ranging policy domains, including the labor market and economic growth.

This paper empirically investigates the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on inequality using a panel data set of 65 developing counties. While the existing literature mainly examines the impact of FDI on growth, this study explores the importance of domestic conditions of the host countries in determining the distributional effects of FDI. The results show that the impact of FDI is not homogenous on host countries as FDI inflows exert inequality-narrowing effect only in countries that have stronger investment in human capital, better financial sector and a high level of economic development. While FDI accentuates not ameliorates inequality in countries with low level of economic development, findings of the study are robust to the use of different specifications, different estimation methods, inclusion of regional effects and time specific effects.

Following recommendations from the Stiglitz et al. (2009) Commission, this paper proposes the use of a new methodology to measure the joint distribution of households’ income, consumption and wealth. Based on a multi-dimensional extension of the generalized mean framework, the paper justifies the application of this methodology based on a set of standard and acknowledged properties. The derived multi-dimensional index has an intuitive structure, which allows evaluating the overall material conditions of households under different perspectives and with varying sensitivity to distributional issues. Under its general form, the index encompasses a class of sub-indices that impose various restrictions on its parameters; the paper discusses the extent to which different restrictions on parameters affect the multi-dimensional assessments of various population groups, and provides some empirical illustrations using those different specifications. The question addressed by the multi-dimensional measure presented here is whether the joint consideration of household income, consumption and wealth modifies substantially the picture of material living standards of different individuals and groups relative to the one provided by income alone. Based on the dataset used here, the paper provides strong evidence on the importance of such a multi-dimensional assessment.

We analyze the effects of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) on poverty, using micro-level household data from 17 villages in a poor area of China’s Guizhou province. A four-wave panel dataset allows us to follow NCMS through its reforms. First-order impact assessments suggest NCMS helps reduce the poverty rate by up to 3 percentage points, and the poverty gap by up to 15 percentage points. It also reduces the contribution of health expenditures to inequality as measured by Gini coefficient. The benefits of NCMS in terms of poverty and inequality appear considerably larger after major reforms in 2009, which expanded benefits and coverage.

We analyze the consumption inequality in India among different caste groups namely SC, ST, OBC and Others using three rounds of Household Level Consumption Expenditure Survey Data from 1993–94 to 2009–10. Regression analysis shows disparity in consumption expenditure across various caste groups. Values of Gini coefficient, Theil’s Index and overlapping index display an increasing trend in both within- and between-group inequality over time. The possibility of stratification among “Others” is identified. It is found that SCs and STs in particular bear the burden of increasing inequality, indicating possible inefficient implementation of the welfare schemes aimed at these communities.

This paper represents an early attempt to investigate the growth and distributional effects of Fintech development, using household survey data from China. China’s rapid expansion of Fintech in the past decade has significantly improved the accessibility and affordability of financial services, particularly for formerly financially excluded population groups. Linking the index of digital financial inclusion with China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data, we find that Fintech development is positively correlated with household income, and the positive effect is larger for rural households than the urban counterpart, suggesting that Fintech development has helped narrow the urban–rural income gap. Moreover, the poor gain more than the rich from Fintech development in rural China, indicating its benign distributive impacts within rural China.