Financialisation and Income Inequality in OECD Nations: 1995-2007

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the link between financialisation and income inequality in advanced countries from a comparative perspective using data from 20 OECD countries over a period of 13 years (1995-2007). The initial regression results show an overall strong correlation between several of the financialisation indicators and income inequality net of conventional explanations including economic growth rate, unemployment, globalisation, left party power, social spending, union density, female participation in the labour market, and wage bargaining centralisation. The results also show that although financialisation has a positive association with income inequality in nations with strong as well as weak unions, the association is stronger in the latter.