Half a world
Subtitle: regional inequality in five great federations
By: Branko Milanovic.
Contributors: World Bank.
Series: Policy research working paper ;; 3699; Policy research working papers (Online) ;; 3699.
Publisher: World Bank
Published: 2005
Place of publication: [Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: United States -- Economic conditions -- 2001- -- Regional disparities; Brazil -- Economic conditions -- 1985- -- Regional disparities; Indonesia -- Economic conditions -- 1997- -- Regional disparities; China -- Economic conditions -- 1976- -- Regional disparities; India -- Economic conditions -- 1947- -- Regional disparities
Description: "The paper studies regional (spatial) inequality in the five most populous countries in the world: China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil in the period 1980-2000.  They are all federations or quasi-federations composed of entities with substantial economic autonomy.  Two types of regional inequalities are considered: Concept 1 inequality, which is inequality between mean incomes (GDP per capita) of states/provinces, and Concept 2 inequality, which is inequality between population-weighted regional mean incomes.  The first inequality speaks to the issue of regional convergence, the second, to the issue of overall inequality as perceived by citizens within a nation.  All three Asian countries show rising inequality in terms of both concepts in the 1990s.  Divergence in income outcomes is particularly noticeable for the most populous states/provinces in China and India.  The United States, where regional inequality is the least, shows further convergence.  Brazil, with the highest level of regional inequality, displays no trend.  A regression analysis fails to establish robust association between the usual macroeconomic variables and the two types of regional inequality. "--World Bank web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 9/1/2005.
Also available in print.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.