Welfare Analysis in an Extended Harris-Todaro Model: An Application of the Atkinson Theorem

12 Pages Posted: 2 Jul 2016

See all articles by Hautahi Kingi

Hautahi Kingi

Cornell University, Department of Economics, Students

Date Written: November 26, 2015

Abstract

I analyze the welfare effects of a policy of modern sector enlargement (MSENL), and a policy of increasing the efficiency of on-the-job search from the urban informal sector (IEOS) in a generalized Harris-Todaro model. I show that MSENL causes a Lorenz worsening of the income distribution and IEOS causes a Lorenz improvement. In a rare direct application of the Atkinson theorem, I conclude that MSENL decreases social welfare and IEOS increases social welfare for all anonymous, increasing and Schur-concave social welfare functions.

Keywords: Lorenz Curves, Segmented Labor Markets, Inequality, Welfare

JEL Classification: D3; D6; J6; O2

Suggested Citation

Kingi, Hautahi, Welfare Analysis in an Extended Harris-Todaro Model: An Application of the Atkinson Theorem (November 26, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2801374 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2801374

Hautahi Kingi (Contact Author)

Cornell University, Department of Economics, Students ( email )

Ithaca, NY
United States

HOME PAGE: http://hautahikingi.com/

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