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Asia and Pacific > India

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 38 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Inflation Indexation in Public Finances: A Global Dataset on Current Practices
Vybhavi Balasundharam
,
Arika Kayastha
, and
Marcos Poplawski Ribeiro
This paper presents a new global dataset on current practices for four budget items in terms of indexation to the price level and other nominal variables. Compiling data from documents of select multilateral organizations, governments, and related literature as well as conducting a survey among IMF country desks of 190 country-members, we show how indexation is internationally applied in (i) personal income tax brackets; (ii) pensions; (iii) social assistance programs; and (iv) public wages. The dataset shows that while indexation policies vary significantly across economies, some trends can be identified. For example, indexation is more common on pension and social grants than on taxes, and falls with the degree of economic development. We further discuss some applications of this new dataset. Those include an accounting exercise illustrating the impacts of indexation on fiscal outcomes during episodes of inflation surprises; and an analysis of the association between the overall degree of indexation combining the four budget items and inflation persistence.
Keywords:
Indexation; Inflation; Fiscal Policy; Fiscal Insititutions; inflation Indexation; indexation policy; price level; IMF country desk; impacts of indexation; indexation practice; Social assistance spending; Pensions; Pension spending; Wages; Africa; Global; Europe; Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Working Papers
Trade and Inclusive Growth
Ms. Valerie Cerra
This paper surveys the literature on the relationship between international trade and inclusive growth. It examines claims that the rise in inequality in many countries can be attributed to the concurrent rise in trade competition, especially from EMEs like China, spurring trade tensions and protectionist measures. The paper investigates the conflicting literature showing the aggregate benefits of trade versus the adverse and persistent impact of trade, especially import competition, on specific industries and local communities. The paper then reviews the evidence for using trade policies and other complementary policies for adjustment and compensation to those groups adversely affected by trade.
Keywords:
trade; inclusive growth; inequality; globalization; growth; poverty; gender; labor; productivity difference; export-led growth; wage inequality; trade facilitation; trade cost; firm productivity difference; liberalization episode; superstar firm; adjustment policy; trade theory; size firm; trade openness; Exports; Imports; Wages; Tariffs; Trade policy; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
How Should We Measure City Size? Theory and Evidence Within and Across Rich and Poor Countries
Remi Jedwab
,
Mr. Prakash Loungani
, and
Anthony Yezer
It is obvious that holding city population constant, differences in cities across the world are enormous. Urban giants in poor countries are not large using measures such as land area, interior space or value of output. These differences are easily reconciled mathematically as population is the product of land area, structure space per unit land (i.e., heights), and population per unit interior space (i.e., crowding). The first two are far larger in the cities of developed countries while the latter is larger for the cities of developing countries. In order to study sources of diversity among cities with similar population, we construct a version of the standard urban model (SUM) that yields the prediction that the elasticity of city size with respect to income could be similar within both developing countries and developed countries. However, differences in income and urban technology can explain the physical differences between the cities of developed countries and developing countries. Second, using a variety of newly merged data sets, the predictions of the SUM for similarities and differences of cities in developed and developing countries are tested. The findings suggest that population is a sufficient statistic to characterize city differences among cities within the same country, not across countries.
Keywords:
WP; per capita income; economic development; density function; low income; Urbanization; Cities; Urban Giants; Population; Standard Urban Model; Measurement; Urban Technology; Building Heights; Sprawl; Housing; Transportation; income elasticity; building height; Income; Wages; Housing prices; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Technology and the Future of Work
Adrian Peralta
and
Agustin Roitman
This paper uses a DSGE model to simulate the impact of technological change on labor markets and income distribution. It finds that technological advances offers prospects for stronger productivity and growth, but brings risks of increased income polarization. This calls for inclusive policies tailored to country-specific circumstances and preferences, such as investment in human capital to facilitate retooling of low-skilled workers so that they can partake in the gains of technological change, and redistributive policies (such as differentiated income tax cuts) to help reallocate gains. Policies are also needed to facilitate the process of adjustment.
Keywords:
Technology; labor markets; income distribution; income gain; increase in capital-labor substitutability; productivity gain; routine task intensity index; market income; office job; routine office job; middle-skilled workers; income polarization; price drop; drivers of labor income share; GDP gain; Income; Unskilled labor; Labor share; Labor force; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
What is Responsible for India’s Sharp Disinflation?
Sajjid Chinoy
,
Pankaj Kumar
, and
Ms. Prachi Mishra
We analyze the dramatic decline in India’s inflation over the last two years using an augmented Phillips Curve approach and quantify the role of different factors. Our results suggest that, contrary to popular perception, the direct role of lower oil prices in India’s disinflation was relatively modest given the limited pass-through into domestic prices. Instead, we find that inflation is a highly persistent process in India, reflecting very adaptive expectations and the backward looking nature of wage and support price-setting. As a consequence, we find that a moderation of expectations, both backward and forward, and a rationalization of Minimum Support Prices (MSPs), explain the bulk of the disinflation over the last two years.
Keywords:
WP; CPI inflation; inflation expectation; Dis-inflation dynamics; food inflation; inflation process; inflation; India; world food price growth; inflation lag; Food prices; Disinflation; Wages; Price indexes; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Sharing the Growth Dividend: Analysis of Inequality in Asia
Ms. Sonali Jain-Chandra
,
Mr. Tidiane Kinda
,
Ms. Kalpana Kochhar
,
Shi Piao
, and
Johanna Schauer
This paper focusses on income inequality in Asia, its drivers and policies to combat it. It finds that income inequality has risen in most of Asia, in contrast to many regions. While in the past, rapid growth in Asia has come with equitable distribution of the gains, more recently fast-growing Asian economies have been unable to replicate the “growth with equity” miracle. There is a growing consensus that high levels of inequality can hamper the pace and sustainability of growth. The paper argues that policies could have a substantial effect on reversing the trend of rising inequality. It is imperative to address inequality of opportunities, in particular to broaden access to education, health, and financial services. Also fiscal policy could combat rising inequality, including by expanding and broadening the coverage of social spending, improving tax progressivity, and boosting compliance. Further efforts to promote financial inclusion, while maintaining financial stability, can help.
Keywords:
WP; income share; consumption share; countries effort; Inequality; Gini coefficient; Asia; inequality measure; IMF staff calculation; entrepreneurial activity; reducing income gap; poverty rate; per capita income; benefits capital income; net Gini in India; net Gini in Asia; Income inequality; Income distribution; Personal income; Labor share; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Macroeconomic Impact of Product and Labor Market Reforms on Informality and Unemployment in India
Rahul Anand
and
Purva Khera
This paper investigates the implications of lowering formal regulations in labor and product markets on informality and macroeconomic outcomes in India. We estimate a DSGE model with an informal sector, and rigidities in the formal labor and product markets. Along with increasing GDP and employment, deregulation also leads to lower informality and greater product market competition. Slow reallocation of resources between the formal and informal sectors leads to some adverse impacts in the short run that can be minimized by implementing a combined package of reforms. These impacts are shown to be greater in an economy with a larger informal sector.
Keywords:
structural reforms; product market deregulation; labor market deregulation; unemployment; wage bargaining; informality; DSGE; Indian economy; Bayesian estimation; entry cost; wage inequality; increase output; open economy; sector wage; hiring cost; reforms help; bargaining power; Labor markets; Wages; Commodity markets; Labor costs; Global
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective
Ms. Era Dabla-Norris
,
Ms. Kalpana Kochhar
,
Mrs. Nujin Suphaphiphat
,
Mr. Franto Ricka
, and
Ms. Evridiki Tsounta
This paper analyzes the extent of income inequality from a global perspective, its drivers, and what to do about it. The drivers of inequality vary widely amongst countries, with some common drivers being the skill premium associated with technical change and globalization, weakening protection for labor, and lack of financial inclusion in developing countries. We find that increasing the income share of the poor and the middle class actually increases growth while a rising income share of the top 20 percent results in lower growth—that is, when the rich get richer, benefits do not trickle down. This suggests that policies need to be country specific but should focus on raising the income share of the poor, and ensuring there is no hollowing out of the middle class. To tackle inequality, financial inclusion is imperative in emerging and developing countries while in advanced economies, policies should focus on raising human capital and skills and making tax systems more progressive.
Keywords:
SDN; income share; protection system; IMF staff calculation; Inequality; Gini coefficient; cross-country analysis; income inequality; income distribution; fiscal policy; Income inequality; Personal income; Income distribution; Wages; Global
Cover Finance & Development
Finances & Développement, mars 2015
International Monetary Fund. External Relations Dept.
Finances & Développement, mars 2015
Keywords:
FD; F&D; worker; firm; IMF-World Bank; job growth; income
Cover Finance & Development
Finance and Development, March 2015
International Monetary Fund. External Relations Dept.
Finance and Development, March 2015
Keywords:
FD; F&D; worker; firm; IMF-World Bank; job growth; income