Distribution of Consumption Expenditure in East Asia
Using a new database of household surveys, this paper examines inequality among all individuals living in developing East Asia regardless of their country of residence. The East Asian Gini index increased from 39.0 in 1988 to 43.3 in 2012. Inequality increased during the initial decade, regardless of the choice of inequality measure. The trend appears to have reversed in the mid-2000s. Regional inequality is now almost entirely explained by within-country differences, while gaps in average income across countries have become unimportant. This reversal has been driven by rising national inequality especially in populous countries, counteracted by catch-up growth in average incomes, particularly in China. Interpersonal differences in income at the regional level have thus become internalized within national boundaries.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017-02
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| Subjects: | inequality, global inequality, expenditure distribution, household surveys, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/630861487080784938/Distribution-of-consumption-expenditure-in-East-Asia https://hdl.handle.net/10986/26135 |
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| Summary: | Using a new database of household
surveys, this paper examines inequality among all
individuals living in developing East Asia regardless of
their country of residence. The East Asian Gini index
increased from 39.0 in 1988 to 43.3 in 2012. Inequality
increased during the initial decade, regardless of the
choice of inequality measure. The trend appears to have
reversed in the mid-2000s. Regional inequality is now almost
entirely explained by within-country differences, while gaps
in average income across countries have become unimportant.
This reversal has been driven by rising national inequality
especially in populous countries, counteracted by catch-up
growth in average incomes, particularly in China.
Interpersonal differences in income at the regional level
have thus become internalized within national boundaries. |
|---|