Nita Rudra
Openness, Welfare Spending, and Inequality in the Developing World
University of Pittsburgh
government social spending affect inequality era globalization article investigates relationship openness government social expenditures ie education health social security welfare income distribution timeseries crosssectional panel data set 35 less developed countries ldcs 1972 1996 compare findings redistributive effects social spending 11 advanced industrialized economies results show categories social spending help improve income distribution richer countries effects social spending much less favorable ldcs spending education ldcs encourages favorable distribution income face globalization argue pressures competitive global economy increase incentives redistributive education spending whereas publicly sponsored health programs particularly social security welfare programs confront greater political lobbying clientelism