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Tolerance for inequality: Hirschman's tunnel effect revisited
Author(s) -
Durongkaveroj Wannaphong
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3389
Subject(s) - inequality , proposition , economics , economic inequality , public economics , development economics , mathematics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , epistemology
Along the path of economic development, advancement of some groups naturally generates economic disparity in society. The concurrent presence of both winners and losers invariably give rise to the psychologically economic question of how the losers perceive and respond to the benefits of development. The ‘tunnel effect’ proposed by Hirschman provides valuable insights for understanding the changing tolerance of economic inequality in the process of economic development. This paper critically discusses this proposition, reviews the related literature, and provides possible extensions. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.