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| Author: | Back Choi, Y. |
| Title: | On the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer |
| Journal: | Kyklos
1999 : VOL. 52:2, p. 239-258 |
| Index terms: | SOCIAL ECONOMICS STANDARD OF LIVING SOCIAL WELFARE ECONOMIC THEORY |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | Recently, the politics of equalization has been rekindled by the increasing perception of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer (RGR). Though the perception involves the subject matter of economics, it has scarcely been examined. The reason for the neglect is that most most people find it rather obviously true. This paper examines the validity of the thesis of RGR, logically and empirically, and finds it wanting. For example, an implication of RGR, viz., increasing polarization of income and wealth distribution, is not borne out by observation. Also, there is too much mobility across income strata to be consistens with RGR. RGR is at best a short term observation and it is a mistake to regard it as a long term tendency. |
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