Income Distribution and Tax and Government Social Spending Policies in Developing Countries
48 Pages Posted: 10 Feb 2006
Date Written: March 2000
Abstract
This paper reviews income distribution in developing (and transition) countries in recent decades. On average, before-tax income distribution in developing countries is less unequal than in industrial countries. However, unlike industrial countries, developing countries in general have not been able to use tax and transfer policies effectively to reduce income inequality. During the 1980s and 1990s, many developing countries experienced an increase in income inequality. The government health care and primary and secondary education programs in developing countries are not well targeted, but their incidence tends to be progressive.
Keywords: Income distribution, tax incidence, government social spending
JEL Classification: D31, H22, H53
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you want regular updates from SSRN on Twitter?
Recommended Papers
-
Taxes and Income Distribution in Chile: Some Unpleasant Redistributive Arithmetic
-
How Useful are Benefit Incidence Analyses of Public Education and Health Spending?
By Hamid R. Davoodi, Erwin R. Tiongson, ...
-
Indirect Taxation in Developing Countries: A General Equilibrium Approach
-
Effects of Personal Income Tax on Income Distribution: Example from Bulgaria
-
Dominance Testing of Social Sector Expenditures and Taxes in Africa
By David E. Sahn and Stephen D. Younger
-
Inequality and Optimal Redistributive Tax and Transfer Policies
-
Income Inequality in Hungary, 1987-1993
By Paul Kattuman and Gerry Redmond