Abstract
Research background: The relationship between labour share and income inequality is a complex and multifaceted problem. Despite ongoing discussions among economists, there is still no consensus on the direction of the relationship between labour share and income inequality.
Purpose of the article: The article aims to assess the impact of labour share on income inequality, which is measured in three ways: the Gini index of gross income, the Gini index of market incomes, and the Gini index of household disposable income.
Methods: Dynamic panel data models were applied to estimate the relationship between Gini coefficients and socio-economic indicators. The study investigated 25 European Union countries over the 2011–2021 period.
Findings & value added: Despite the long convergence process of the EU economies, there is still great diversity in the labour share, social inequalities, and the interplay between these factors. The added value of this research is the indication of labour share impact on three Gini measures covering a diverse income spectrum (from labour and capital). Based on the research findings, hypothesis 1, claiming that the more developed the national economy, the lower the share of employment income, favouring capital gains, is confirmed. Hypothesis 2 (as the share of income from work increases, the Gini coefficient of gross incomes decreases) must be rejected. There is no significant relationship between labour share and the studied Gini measures in 'old' EU countries. In 'new' EU members, there is a reverse relationship than assumed in hypothesis 2. The growth of the Gini coefficient was influenced by the rise in labour share, which can be attributed to the diversity in economic structures.
Publisher
Instytut Badan Gospodarczych / Institute of Economic Research
Subject
Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous),Economics and Econometrics
Reference65 articles.
1. Afonso, A., Schuknecht, L., & Tanzi, V. (2008). Income distribution determinants and public spending efficiency. European Central Bank, Working Paper Series, 861.
2. Autor, D., Dorn, D., Katz, L. F., Patterson, Ch., & Van Reenen, J. (2020). The rise of superstar firms and the fall of the labor share. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(2), 645–709.
3. Autor, D., Van Reenen, J. V., & Patterson, Ch. (2023). Local and national concentration trends in jobs and sales: The role of structural transformation. SSRN.
4. Arellano, M., & Bond, S. R. (1991). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations. Review of Economic Studies, 58, 277–297.
5. Arpaia, A., Pérezaand, E., & Pichelmann, K. (2009). Understanding labour income share dynamics in Europe. Economic Papers, 379.