Interactions between Economic Growth, Financial Development, and Income Inequality in General and in China

Abstract

This paper is a survey of the literature on the theoretical and empirical interactions among financial development, economic growth, and income inequality. Prevailing evidence on finance and economic growth suggests that financial intermediaries’ development significantly helps to enhance economic growth. In addition, previous studies show that financial development plays an important role in reducing income inequality. Empirical research on a Chinese case, however, shows varied empirical findings or no clear association between financial development and income inequality.