Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Topic

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Asia and Pacific > Thailand

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 23 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Income distribution x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover IMF Working Papers
Inequality and the Structure of Countries’ External Liabilities
Philipp Harms
,
Mathias Hoffmann
,
Miriam Kohl
, and
Tobias Krahnke
In this paper, we present empirical evidence that higher income inequality is associated with a greater equity share in countries' external liabilities, and we develop a theoretical model that can explain this observation: In a small open economy with traded and nontraded goods, entry barriers depress entrepreneurial activity in nontraded industries and raise income inequality. The small number of domestic nontraded-goods firms leaves room for foreign firms to operate on the domestic market, and it reduces external borrowing. The model suggests that barriers to entrepreneurial activity could be conducive to attract equity-type capital inows. Our empirical results lend some support to this conjecture.
Keywords:
Portfolio Equity; Foreign direct investment; External debt; External liabilities; Income Inequality; entry barrier; equity share; barriers to entrepreneurial activity; traded-goods firm; Income; Portfolio investment; Self-employment; South Asia; East Asia; Foreign corporations
Cover IMF Working Papers
COVID-19 and Inequality in Asia: Breaking the Vicious Cycle
Ms. Emilia M Jurzyk
,
Medha Madhu Nair
,
Nathalie Pouokam
,
Tahsin Saadi Sedik
, and
Mrs. Irina Yakadina
The COVID-19 pandemic risks exacerbating inequality in Asia. High frequency labor surveys show that the pandemic is having particularly adverse effects on younger workers, women and people that are more vulnerable. Pandemics have been shown to increase inequalities. As a result, income inequality, which was already high and rising in Asia before the pandemic, is likely to rise further over the medium term, unless policies succeed in breaking this historical pattern. Many Asian governments have implemented significant fiscal policy measures to mitigate the pandemic’s effect on the most vulnerable, with the impact depending on the initial coverage of safety nets, fiscal space, and degree of informality and digitalization. The paper includes model-based analysis which shows that policies targeted to where needs are greatest are effective in mitigating adverse distributional consequences and underpinning overall economic activity and virus containment.
Keywords:
COVID-19; Inequality; Susceptible-Infected-Recovered Macro Model; Fiscal Policy.; WP; IMF staff calculation; pandemic course; government-imposed lockdown; coronavirus disease pandemic; pandemic recession; Fiscal Policy; Income inequality; Consumption; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Socio-Economic Spillovers from Special Economic Zones: Evidence from Cambodia
Mariya Brussevich
This study examines the socio-economic impact of special economic zones (SEZs) in Cambodia---a prominent place-based policy established in 2005. The paper employs a database on existing and future SEZs in Cambodia with matched household surveys at the district level and documents stylized facts on SEZs in a low-income country setting. To identify causal effects of the SEZ program, the paper (i) constructs an alternative control group including future SEZ program participants and districts adjacent to SEZ hosts; and (ii) employs a propensity score weighting technique. The study finds that entry of SEZs disproportionately benefits female workers and leads to a decline of income inequality at a district level. However, the findings also suggest that land values in SEZ districts tend to rise while wage levels remain largely unchanged relative to other districts. In addition, the paper tests for socio-economic spillovers to surrounding areas and for agglomeration effects associated with clusters of multiple SEZs.
Keywords:
WP; SEZ program; SEZ entry; SEZ firm; program participation; SEZ district; SEZ location; Employment; Wages; Income; Income inequality; Labor markets; Special Economic Zones; Place-Based Policy; Low-Income Country; Foreign Direct Investment; SEZ effect; SEZ developer; SEZ trend; tagged SEZ database; SEZ program participation; SEZ intensity; propensity score weighting technique; Policy implication; impact of special economic zones; Women
Cover IMF Working Papers
Determinants of Inclusive Growth in ASEAN
Victoriia Alekhina
and
Mr. Giovanni Ganelli
Over the past decades ASEAN countries have experienced rapid economic growth accompanied by a dramatic fall in poverty rates, but income inequality has not retreated. This research aims at identifying factors which could contribute to more equally distributed growth in ASEAN. To measure inclusive growth, we use a variable integrating per capita income growth and an equity index. A cross-country panel analysis of the impact of macro-structural factors on inclusive growth and its two components suggests that fiscal redistribution, female labor force participation, productivity growth, FDI inflows, digitalization, and savings significantly drive inclusive growth. A scenario analysis based on our econometric results suggests that the implementation of fiscal redistribution and labor market-oriented structural reforms could help significantly accelerate inclusive growth in ASEAN.
Keywords:
WP; income; ASEAN country; per capita income; GDP; income share; income distribution; distribution data; economic growth; income inequality; Inclusive growth; Income inequality; Personal income; Income distribution; Fiscal redistribution; East Asia; Asia and Pacific; Inequality; Equity; inflation rate; simulation result
Cover IMF Working Papers
Inequality in Financial Inclusion and Income Inequality
Goksu Aslan
,
Ms. Corinne C Delechat
,
Ms. Monique Newiak
, and
Mr. Fan Yang
We investigate the link between gender inequality in financial inclusion and income inequality, with three contributions to the recent literature. First, using a micro-dataset covering 146,000 individuals in over 140 countries, we construct novel, synthetic indices of the intensity of financial inclusion at the individual and country level. Second, we derive the distribution of individual financial access “scores” across countries to document a “Kuznets”-curve in financial inclusion. Third, cross-country regressions confirm that our measure of inequality in financial access is significantly related to income inequality, above and beyond other factors previously highlighted in the literature.
Keywords:
WP; Gini coefficient; Financial inclusion; financial development; gender inequality; income inequality; sub-Saharan Africa; inequality data; financial access; market Gini; cumulative distribution function; Income distribution; Financial sector development; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Inequality, Gender Gaps and Economic Growth: Comparative Evidence for Sub-Saharan Africa
Ms. Dalia S Hakura
,
Mr. Mumtaz Hussain
,
Ms. Monique Newiak
,
Mr. Vimal V Thakoor
, and
Mr. Fan Yang
A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that inequality—income or gender related—can impede economic growth. Using dynamic panel regressions and new time series data, this paper finds that both income and gender inequalities, including from legal gender-based restrictions, are jointly negatively associated with per capita GDP growth. Examining the relationship for countries at different stages of development, we find that this effect prevails mainly in lower income countries. In particular, per capita income growth in sub-Saharan Africa could be higher by as much as 0.9 percentage points on average if inequality was reduced to the levels observed in the fastgrowing emerging Asian countries. High levels of income inequality in sub-Saharan Africa appear partly driven by structural features. However, the paper’s findings show that policies that influence the opportunities of low-income households and women to participate in economic activities also matter and, therefore, if well-designed and targeted, could play a role in alleviating inequalities.
Keywords:
WP; inequality indicator; x LICs; income share; real GDP; Income inequality; gender inequality; economic growth; sub-Saharan Africa; net Gini coefficient; inequality measure; Personal income; Income distribution; Women; Caribbean
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
Asia’s Quest for Inclusive Growth Revisited
Ms. Chie Aoyagi
and
Mr. Giovanni Ganelli
Despite the rapid economic growth and poverty reduction, inequality in Asia worsened during last two decades. We focus on the determinants of growth inclusiveness and suggest options for reform. A cross cross-country empirical analysis suggests that fiscal redistribution, monetary policy aimed at macro stability, and structural reforms to stimulate trade, reduce unemployment and increase productivity are important determinants of inclusive growth. The main policy implication of our analysis is that there is still room to strengthen such policies in Asia to better achieve growth with shared prosperity. In particular, scenario simulations based on our results suggests that the effect of expanding fiscal redistribution on inclusive growth could be sizeable in emerging Asia, since the estimated improvement in our proxy of inclusive growth – a measure of growth in average income “corrected” for the equity impact—ranges from about 1 to about 8 percentage points.
Keywords:
WP; Asia; monetary policy; Gini coefficient; poverty; fiscal policy; Inclusive growth; inequality; economic growth; indifference curve; aggregate Gini Index; absolute poverty; poverty-reducing effect; monetary policy variable; poverty rate; income share; level of significance; policy implication; Income inequality; Fiscal redistribution; Poverty reduction; Income distribution; Asia and Pacific; East Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Infrastructure and Income Distribution in ASEAN-5: What are the Links?
Ms. Yan M Sun
Adequate infrastructure has long been viewed as an important factor in economic development. Based on regressions covering 76 advanced and emerging market economies, this paper estimates the impact of infrastructure and investment on income distribution. It finds that better infrastructure, both quality and quantity, promotes income equality, while the link between investment and income distribution is weak.
Keywords:
WP; Gini coefficient; investment; ASEAN-5; quantity; emerging market economy; Gini index data; Infrastructure; Income Distribution; GINI; Inclusive Growth; investment variable; infrastructure quantity index; de-meaned Gini index; flood-prevention investment; income share; income equality; quality index; Income inequality; Income; Private investment; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Financial Deepening, Inequality, and Growth: A Model-Based Quantitative Evaluation
Robert M. Townsend
and
Mr. Kenichi Ueda
We propose a coherent unified approach to the study of the linkages among economic growth, financial structure, and inequality, bringing together disparate theoretical and empirical literature. That is, we show how to conduct model-based quantitative research on transitional paths. With analytical and numerical methods, we calibrate and make tractable a prototype canonical model and take it to an application, namely, Thailand 1976-1996, an emerging economy in a phase of economic expansion with uneven financial deepening and increasing inequality. We broadly replicate the actual data, test the model formally, and identify anomalies.
Keywords:
WP; growth rate; financial system; Financial deepening; inequality; growth; transitional dynamics; saving rate; value function; Thai baht; benchmark economy; parameter value; portfolio choice; population shift; Income inequality; Income distribution; Personal income; Agroindustries; Asia and Pacific