Factor decomposition of income inequality change : Japan's regional income disparity from 1955 to 1998

We propose a method for the decomposition of inequality changes based on panel data regression. The method is an efficient way to quantify the contributions of variables to changes of the Theil T index while satisfying the property of uniform addition. We illustrate the method using prefectural data from Japan for the period 1955 to 1998. Japan experienced a diminishing of regional income disparity during the years of high economic growth from 1955 to 1973. After estimating production functions using panel data for prefectures in Japan, we apply the new decomposition approach to identify each production factor’s contributions to the changes of per capita income inequality among prefectures. The decomposition results show that total factor productivity (residual) growth, population change (migration), and public capital stock growth contributed to the diminishing of per capita income disparity.

Elaine M. Aber

Elaine M. Aber was the first white student to graduate from Lincoln University. She later joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, becoming one of the first whites in Jefferson City to join a predominately African American sorority. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Education from Lincoln University and later a Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Aber worked as a counselor for the Missouri State of Employment Services until she retired in 1985. One of her greatest professional accomplishments was being published in the Journal of Educational Sociology February 1959 for her article, “A Reverse Pattern of Integration”. She achieved much success due to her ability to work in a diverse environment.

O direito à intimidade na sociedade técnica : rumo a uma política pública em matéria de tratamento de dados pessoais / Jorge Barrientos-Parra, Elaine Cristina Vilela Borges Melo.

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