THE OPTIMAL CONVERGENCE OF REGIONAL INCOMES*
研究了区域平均收入收敛是否真的能降低整体不平等，提出了最优收敛的概念，并用美国南北方数据说明其取决于收入分布形状、不平等指数和转移规则。
ABSTRACT For many policy considerations it is assumed that the convergence of regional mean income will improve national equity by reducing overall inequality. The literature on decomposability of social welfare functions implies that this assumption is unwarranted. This paper develops a notion of optimal regional convergence. In general, the point of optimal convergence depends on the shapes of the regional income distributions, the inequality index used, and the rule for distributing interregional transfers. These concepts are illustrated with data on the regional income distributions of the Southern and Northern United States.