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The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 74 No. 3 1992

Explaining Interstate Variation in Income Inequality

John A. Bishop; John P. Formby; Paul D. Thistle

Abstract

This paper investigates interstate variation in income inequality. By avoiding inequality indices and focusing directly on the Lorenz curve, the authors provide a more general explanation of the differences in inequality. They find that mean family income, the standard deviation of years of schooling, per capita educational expenditure, and property income are robust predictors of inequality. Of particular interest is their finding that, ceteris paribus, higher per capita education expenditures tend to be associated with states that have income inequality which is greater than the U.S. average.

DOI
10.2307/2109501
Volume
74
Issue
3
Pages
553
Sources
crossref openalex

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