Research and development: The easy way to reduce income inequality

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Authors
Featherstone, Monica
Advisors
Cheng, Jen-Chi
Issue Date
2021-04-02
Type
Abstract
Keywords
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Featherstone, M. 2021. Research and development: The easy way to reduce income inequality -- In Proceedings: 17th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University
Abstract

Increasing awareness of income inequality has provoked discussions of the detriment to society and what can or should be done about it. This paper uncovers a focus area where resources can be used to decrease income inequality. A cross-sectional regression of 61 countries shows a significant positive correlation between increased spending on research and development and decreased inequality or every additional 1% of GDP spent on R&D, income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, decreases by 2.72%. The sample set includes countries along the developmental spectrum, showing that even more advanced economies can benefit from spending on R&D. The possibility exists that R&D, which is fueled by education, also corresponds with a continued path of upward mobility.

Table of Contents
Description
Presented to the 17th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held online, Wichita State University, April 2, 2021.
Research completed in the Department of Economics, W. Frank Barton School of Business
Publisher
Wichita State University
Journal
Book Title
Series
GRASP
v. 17
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
EISSN