Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322230 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 46/25
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Seven decades ago, Simon Kuznets put forward the hypothesis that as economies developed, national inequality would first increase and then decrease-an inverted U-shape. He provided preliminary evidence for the hypothesis on the basis of the limited data available at the time, and theorized the genesis of the curve as arising from the twin forces of structural transformation of the economy and political economy pressures. Seven decades on, the Kuznets curve still has a hold on the development discourse as new data is used to test the hypothesis, new theories are elaborated to explain the evolution of inequality, and the metaphor of an inverse U-shape is extended beyond its original realm of national inequality. With this rich history and background, the time is right to examine the Kuznets curve literature broadly construed. This overview takes stock of what has been learned and highlights emerging research and policy questions.
Subjects: 
Kuznets
inequality
inverted U
structural transformation
political economy
JEL: 
D31
O15
O40
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-605-0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.