Convergence of the south and non-south income distributions, 1969-1979

Differences in income distribution have long characterized regions within the US. The US South has historically had both lower incomes and greater inequality than the non-South. The evidence presented reveals that in the 1970s the South's income distribution either converged or moved significan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American economic review 1992-03, Vol.82 (1), p.262-272
Main Authors: Bishop, J.A, Formby, J.P, Thistle, P.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Censuses
Comparative studies
comparisons
Converging
Cost of living indexes
Cost of living indices
Economic statistics
Economic theory
Gini coefficient
History
Household income
Households
Income
Income distribution
Income inequality
Lorenz Curve
lorenz dominance
Quantiles
regionalization
Significance level
Statistical analysis
stochastic processes
Wellbeing
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Summary:Differences in income distribution have long characterized regions within the US. The US South has historically had both lower incomes and greater inequality than the non-South. The evidence presented reveals that in the 1970s the South's income distribution either converged or moved significantly closer to the income distribution of the rest of the country. The degree of convergence depends on the definition of the recipient unit and, to a degree, on the particular cost-of-living index used to deflate Southern and non-Southern incomes. Statistical comparisons of household and per capita Lorenz and generalized Lorenz curves yield results similar to the rank-dominance analysis. From a position of being dominated at all decile points except one in 1969, the Southern household income distribution function, Lorenz curves, and generalized Lorenz curves converged to the non-South's at all decile points except the very bottom in 1979.
ISSN:0002-8282
1944-7981