Cross-Country Income Levels over Time: Did the Developing World Suddenly Become Much Richer?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Inklaar, Robert; Rao, D. S. Prasada
• 署名单位: University of Groningen; University of Queensland
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MACROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7707
• DOI: 10.1257/mac.20150155
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 265-290
• 关键词: economic-growth; price levels; revisions; INEQUALITY; indexes; table; sense; ppps

摘要

The latest global survey on relative prices and income levels, for the year 2011, showed changes to relative income levels that were larger in lower income countries, thereby narrowing the world income distribution compared to estimates based on the previous, 2005 survey. This paper examines whether changes in measurement methodology between the 2005 and 2011 survey can explain these large differences. We construct a counterfactual set of relative prices for 2005 that harmonizes measurement, and we no longer find systematic differences across income levels, implying that international income inequality based on the 2005 survey was overstated.