Income inequality and social institutions: beyond the Kuznets curve and economic determinism
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 1 December 2002
Abstract
The paper outlines and examines a social‐institutional conception of income inequality or economic distribution. The fundamental proposition of this conception is that income inequality/distribution is far from being the outcome of the operation of strictly market laws or economic forces but rather one of institutional arrangements or social structures. Of the latter particularly important have shown to be the institutional structure of the economy, particularly labour markets, as well as the degree of democracy of political systems. The results suggest transcending single‐factor economic explanations and predictions of income inequality, as implied in the Kuznets curve and its ramifications, in favour of an alternative multilevel sociological approach.
Keywords
Citation
Zafirovski, M. (2002), "Income inequality and social institutions: beyond the Kuznets curve and economic determinism", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 22 No. 11/12, pp. 89-131. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330210790210
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited