Temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of income in France: growing disparities or convergence?

Authors
Publication date
2019
Publication type
Thesis
Summary This thesis studies income disparities from two different and complementary perspectives: (i) between groups of individuals sharing time periods and (ii) between groups of individuals sharing the same territory. Our objective is to analyze the economic mechanisms that generate both temporal and spatial income disparities and to study the means available to remedy them. The thesis is divided into three chapters in which we mainly use statistical tools on the French case in order to answer the problems raised. The aspect of temporal income disparities is the subject of the first chapter where we study the interaction between fiscal multipliers and public debt insofar as they are the two main tools for smoothing income over time and present both short and long term issues. More specifically, we seek to identify the best instruments and the "best" economic context to initiate a reduction in the public debt ratio. We highlight that the use of fiscal austerity policies during economic recessions is likely to increase the public debt ratio. The second chapter is devoted to the measurement and characterization of the convergence phenomenon between French territories. In particular, we answer the following questions: (i) is there a convergence phenomenon? (ii) is the convergence process linear? (iii) is the convergence uniform across the territory? We answer these three questions in the affirmative, which raises questions about the reasons for spatial heterogeneity in convergence speeds. Finally, the third chapter aims at identifying the determinants of spatial convergence. In particular, we wish to highlight the factors that encourage spatial convergence and, on the contrary, those that slow it down. We then show that the heterogeneity of territories in terms of access to different external markets is an important factor in explaining the different levels of convergence observed across France.
Topics of the publication
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