1 経済格差と経済政策(I 共通論題=経済格差と社会変動)

抄録

The paper examines the relationship between economic inequality (i.e., income distribution) and economic policies. There are two methods in order to reduce the degree of income inequality in redistributed incomes (i.e., disposable incomes). The first is to reduce inequality in primary incomes (i.e., before-tax incomes), and at the same time not to use tax and social security policies. The second is to use tax and social security policies to reduce inequality in primary incomes. The paper discusses the merit and the demerit of these two methods, and shows a speculation that the second method is preferable if the society has an agreement that it is desirable to reduce inequality in redistributed incomes. The paper also presented four strategies for the first method. (1) Intensifying the minimum wage law, (2) Reducing the difference in per-hour wages between full-timers and part-timers, (3) Reducing wage payments between larger firms and smaller firms, and (4) The introduction of various safety net systems.