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Do Poverty and Income Inequality Affect Public Debt?

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  • Ewa Aksman
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to capture the impact of poverty and income inequality on public debt in European Union countries, providing for the dynamic nature of the response variable. To assess absolute poverty, a new overall deprivation indicator is suggested, a measure that makes it possible to distinguish between average deprivation and severe deprivation. To determine income inequality, the unevenness in the distribution of prefiscal income is considered, as this is the factor that is most likely to cause government redistributive spending. A dynamic panel data model (DPD model) is estimated using the bias-corrected LSDV estimator. The results indicate that neither poverty nor income inequality are statistically significant predictors of the public debt-to-GDP ratio. This is because countries that report higher absolute poverty or higher income inequality de facto spend less on social benefits, while countries with higher relative poverty do not have higher social spending than the rest of the sample.

Suggested Citation

  • Ewa Aksman, 2017. "Do Poverty and Income Inequality Affect Public Debt?," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 6, pages 79-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:sgh:gosnar:y:2017:i:6:p:79-93
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Carrera, Jorge & de la Vega, Pablo, 2021. "The impact of income inequality on public debt," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    2. Bartak, Jakub & Jabłoński, Łukasz & Tomkiewicz, Jacek, 2022. "Does income inequality explain public debt change in OECD countries?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 211-224.
    3. Jorge Carrera & Pablo De la Vega & Fernando Toledo, 2021. "Income Inequality and Fiscal Policy over the Political Cycle A Panel Estimation Model for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4449, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public debt-to-GDP ratio; deprivation indicator; pre-fiscal income; Gini coefficient; Kiviet estimator;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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