Events
DECRG Kuala Lumpur Seminar Series: Structural Transformation, Growth Incidence and Inequality
March 17, 2016DECRG Kuala Lumpur Seminar Series

Abstract: In 1955, in an influential study Kuznets (1955) predicted an inverted-U relationship between development and inequality, mainly through structural transformation. Since then a large body of research has empirically tested the Kuznets hypothesis, but consensus is far less evident. In this paper, I argue that a heterogeneous process of structural transformation across the income distribution may explain such empirical irregularities. I specifically link the heterogeneity in growth incidence resulting from a shrinking agriculture sector across income quantiles to inequality measures. Empirical evidence drawn from the Ivoirian household survey data supports this theoretical prediction. However, the decomposition results indicate a relatively small contribution of structural transformation to total changes in inequality.

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  • Saumik Paul

    Associate Professor, Nottingham School of Economics, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus
    Saumik Paul is an Associate Professor at the Nottingham School of Economics, Malaysia campus (UNMC). He received PhD in Economics from Claremont University, USA. Prior to joining UNMC, he taught at Osaka University, Japan and worked at the World Bank. Saumik's research interests span topics in development, political economy and labor.
  • The DECRG Kuala Lumpur Seminar Series is hosted by the World Bank's Development Research Group (DECRG) based in the World Bank Malaysia office. The series invites leading researchers in development economics and public policy to present their recent work in an academic-style seminar format
EVENT DETAILS
  • WHEN: Thursday, March 17, 2016; 12:30 - 2:00 pm
  • WHERE: World Bank Malaysia Office, Level 3, Sasana Kijang, No. 2, Jalan Dato’ Onn
  • RSVP: Kindly RSVP to Ms. Stella Ambrose (msambrose@worldbank.org) and provide your name, Malaysian I/C no. or passport no., and affiliation by 15th March 2016.



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