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Monetary Policy and Income Inequality in Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Jongwook Park

    (Economic Research Institute, The Bank of Korea)

Abstract
This paper analyzes the relationships between monetary policy and income inequality in Korea. We calculate Gini coefficient for various income range using data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey and then estimate a block-exogeneity VAR representing Korean and US economies to examine the effects of monetary policies on income inequality. The results show that following a one-standard deviation contractionary (expansionary) monetary policy shock, market income Gini coefficient increases (decreases) significantly after one year, reaching its peak to 0.0014 (0.14%p) while GDP and CPI decrease (increase) significantly by 0.48% and 0.15%, respectively. The contributions of monetary policy shocks to income inequality are found to be small as shown by forecast error variance and historical decompositions. In addition, earnings heterogeneity channel is most important among various channels through which monetary policy affects income inequality. Finally, a counterfactual analysis implies that if Bank of Korea held the call rate constant at 5.13% from 2008:Q3 and thereafter, the average of market income Gini coefficient would be higher by 0.009 (0.9%p) during 2008:Q4 - 2015:Q1 under the assumption of static expectations.

Suggested Citation

  • Jongwook Park, 2018. "Monetary Policy and Income Inequality in Korea," Working Papers 2018-27, Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea.
    • Handle: RePEc:bok:wpaper:1827
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sigal Ribon, 2023. "Differential Effects of Monetary Policy on Household Consumption: The Case of Israel," Israel Economic Review, Bank of Israel, vol. 21(1), pages 35-73, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Monetary Policy; Income Inequality; Block-exogeneity; VAR;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General

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