Do government expenditure reduce income inequality: evidence from developing and developed countries

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to re-examine the impact of government expenditure on income inequality. Existing studies provide mixed results on whether government expenditure reduces or increases income inequality. In this paper, government expenditure is viewed as a tool for redistribution, hence, its impact on inequality is examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 122 countries with 91 and 31 countries categorized as developing and developed countries is used. The dynamic panel threshold regression is used to examine the impact of government expenditure on income inequality and to estimate the turning point of the negative or positive effects.

Findings

The major findings suggest that, in general, government expenditure does reduce income inequality. Results from developed countries support the inversed U-shaped Kuznet curve where higher government expenditure initially led to more inequality but would eventually bring about a positive effect after a certain threshold level. For developing countries, education and development expenditure were the driving forces towards lower income inequality.

Practical implications

Several policy implications can be derived from this paper. First, government expenditure is a useful tool to alleviate the problem of income inequality. More integration with the global economy via trading activities is also an important channel to help reduce income inequality. Finally, better institutional quality provides an effective ecosystem in promoting better redistribution of income via government expenditure.

Originality/value

This paper presents a maiden attempt to estimate a threshold value or when government expenditure starts to reduce or increase income inequality. The sample is segregated into developed and developing countries to further control the effect of government size and the level of development of a country.

Citation

Sidek, N.Z.M. (2021), "Do government expenditure reduce income inequality: evidence from developing and developed countries", Studies in Economics and Finance, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 447-503. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEF-09-2020-0393