Inflation and income inequality: A link through the job-search process

In this paper I devise a new channel by means of which the (empirically documented) positive correlation between ináation and income inequality can be understood. Available empirical evidence reveals that ináation increases wage dispersion. For this reason, the higher the ináation rate, the higher t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Cysne, Rubens Penha
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2004
País:Brasil
Institución:Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional do FGV (FGV Repositório Digital)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/619
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10438/619
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Economia
Renda - Distribuição
Inflação
Descripción
Sumario:In this paper I devise a new channel by means of which the (empirically documented) positive correlation between ináation and income inequality can be understood. Available empirical evidence reveals that ináation increases wage dispersion. For this reason, the higher the ináation rate, the higher turns out to be the beneÖt, for a worker, of making additional draws from the distribution of wages, before deciding whether to accept or reject a job o§er. Assuming that some workers have less access to information (wage o§ers) than others, I show that the Gini coe¢ cient of income distribution turns out to be an increasing function of the wage dispersion and, consequently, of the rate of ináation. Two examples are provided to illustrate the mechanism.