Human capital, self-esteem, and income inequality

Citation

Gradstein, Mark & Ventura, Luigi (2023). Human capital, self-esteem, and income inequality. Journal of Economic Growth.

Abstract

We introduce into a human-capital based growth framework utility from self-esteem, driven by academic achievements. Self-esteem, through its effect on human capital, is shown to shape the intertemporal evolution and the persistence of income inequality, in general, and across population groups. Inequality persistence is obtained because of the wedge that the self-esteem component creates between households whose academic achievements are high enough as opposed to those whose achievements are insufficiently low. Among the several extensions, it is shown that controlling parenting style can exacerbate income inequality while reducing children’s self-esteem.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-023-09235-7

Keyword(s)

Cultural traits

Notes

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Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Journal of Economic Growth

Author(s)

Gradstein, Mark
Ventura, Luigi

Year Published

2023

Edition

October 9, 2023

ISSN/ISBN

1573-7020

DOI

10.1007/s10887-023-09235-7

Reference ID

10131