The Impact of Financial Development on Income Inequality: Evidence from OECD Countries

The financial system has an important component which adds to social welfare. Investment and consumption expenditures contribute to the increase in production by meeting the capital requirement. The study examines the impact of financial development on income inequality for 13 member nations of the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Çiğdem Karış, Dilek Çil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2024-04-01
Series:Istanbul Business Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/38A92DFE50FC460D96A9EB5B2B6FB58C
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The financial system has an important component which adds to social welfare. Investment and consumption expenditures contribute to the increase in production by meeting the capital requirement. The study examines the impact of financial development on income inequality for 13 member nations of the OECD between 1993 and 2017 in light of the panel data method. In the study, income inequality is used as a proxy for the GINI coefficient, while the banks’ domestic credit to the private sector is utilized to represent financial development. In addition, the model utilizes control variables, including per capita income, trade openness, inflation, and public spending. The panel data regression results reveal that financial development has a positive effect on income inequality. The results of the paper support the Income Inequality Widening Hypothesis, which suggests that the situation which favours individuals with high income levels who have access to financial resources continues when financial development increases, which in turn increases income inequality.
ISSN:2630-5488