Journals / Sosyoekonomi / 2026 / Cilt: 34 Sayı: 67

Revisiting the Kuznets Hypothesis: The Role of HDI and GDP in High and Upper-Middle Income Countries (1990-2018) Using Panel Data

Kuznets Hipotezinin Yeniden Değerlendirilmesi: Panel Veri Analizleri ile Yüksek ve Üst-Orta Gelirli Ülkelerde İGE ve GSYH'nin Rolü (1990-2018)

Damla Gökmen Demirci(BARTIN ÜNİVERSİTESİ, İKTİSADİ VE İDARİ BİLİMLER FAKÜLTESİ, İKTİSAT BÖLÜMÜ)0000-0002-0570-8388
Orhan Kandemir(KASTAMONU ÜNİVERSİTESİ, İKTİSADİ VE İDARİ BİLİMLER FAKÜLTESİ, İKTİSAT BÖLÜMÜ)0000-0002-9274-3420
Asiye Tütüncü(KASTAMONU ÜNİVERSİTESİ, İKTİSADİ VE İDARİ BİLİMLER FAKÜLTESİ, FİNANS VE BANKACILIK BÖLÜMÜ)0000-0001-9473-9401
Pages
403–426
Publication Date
2026-01-31
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Findings indicate a pronounced U-shaped relationship in both country groups and suggest that HDI explains income inequality more effectively than GDP per capita.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study examines the Kuznets hypothesis in high and upper-middle-income countries from 1990 to 2018 using panel data analysis.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The Westerlund and Edgerton (2007) test assesses cointegration, while the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) approach estimates long-term coefficients.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Findings indicate a pronounced U-shaped relationship in both country groups and suggest that HDI explains income inequality more effectively than GDP per capita.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:2018 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Kuznets Hipotezi · İGE · Gelir Eşitsizliği

Abstract

This study examines the Kuznets hypothesis in high and upper-middle-income countries from 1990 to 2018 using panel data analysis. Income inequality dynamics are analysed with two economic development indicators: the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Two models are built to conduct cointegration analysis and estimate long-run coefficients. The Westerlund and Edgerton (2007) test assesses cointegration, while the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) approach estimates long-term coefficients. Findings indicate a pronounced U-shaped relationship in both country groups and suggest that HDI explains income inequality more effectively than GDP per capita.

Özet

Bu çalışma, 1990-2018 döneminde yüksek ve üst-orta gelirli ülkelerde Kuznets hipotezini panel veri analizi ile incelemektedir. Gelir eşitsizliği dinamikleri, İnsani Gelişme Endeksi (HDI) ve kişi başına Gayri Safi Yurt İçi Hasıla (GSYİH) olmak üzere iki ekonomik kalkınma göstergesiyle analiz edilmiştir. Eşbütünleşme analizi ve uzun dönem katsayılarını tahmin etmek için iki model oluşturulmuştur. Westerlund ve Edgerton (2007) testi eşbütünleşmeyi, Genişletilmiş Ortalama Grup (AMG) yaklaşımı ise uzun dönem katsayılarını tahmin etmektedir. Bulgular, her iki ülke grubunda belirgin bir U şeklinde ilişki olduğunu ve HDI’nin gelir eşitsizliğini GSYİH’den daha iyi açıkladığını göstermektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Demirci, D. G., Kandemir, O., Tütüncü, A. (2026). Revisiting the Kuznets Hypothesis: The Role of HDI and GDP in High and Upper-Middle Income Countries (1990-2018) Using Panel Data. Sosyoekonomi, Cilt: 34 Sayı: 67, 403–426. https://doi.org/10.17233/sosyoekonomi.2026.01.17

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (69)

  1. Akalin, G. et al. (2018), “Türkiye’de gelir dağılımı ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki ilişki: ARDL sınır testi yaklaşımı”, Journal of Kastamonu University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 20(4), 59-76.
  2. Akıncı, G.Y. & M. Akıncı (2016), “Ters-U hipotezi bağlamında ekonomik büyüme, finansal kalkınma ve gelir eşitsizliği mekanizmaları üzerine”, Finans Politik ve Ekonomik Yorumlar, (622), 61-77.
  3. Ayhan, H. (2018), “The relationship between economic development and income inequality: Kuznets curve”, Master's Thesis, İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
  4. Bai, J. & S. Ng (2004), “A panic attack on unit roots and cointegration”, Econometrica, 72(4), 1127-1177.
  5. Baltagi, B.H. (2005), Econometric analysis of panel data, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
  6. Baltagi, B.H. et al. (2016), “Testing cross-sectional correlation in large panel data models with serial correlation”, Econometrics, 4(4), 44.
  7. Barro, R.J. (2000), “Inequality and growth in a panel of countries”, Journal of Economic Growth, 5, 5-32.
  8. Berber, M. (2015), İktisadi büyüme ve kalkınma, Derya Kitabevi.
  9. Breusch, T.S. & A.R. Pagan (1980), “The Lagrange multiplier test and its applications to model specification in econometrics”, The Review of Economic Studies, 47(1), 239-253.
  10. Çakmak, A.İ. & B. Tosun (2017), “Ekonomik büyüme-gelir dağılımı ilişkisi: Kuznets hipotezinin seçilmiş ülkeler üzerine araştırılması”, Kocaeli Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, (33), 33-44.
  11. Çalışkan, Ş. (2010), “Türkiye'de gelir eşitsizliği ve yoksulluk”, Sosyal Siyaset Konferansları Dergisi, (59), 89-132.
  12. Chancel, L. et al. (2022), World Inequality Report 2022, World Inequality Lab.
  13. Choi, I. (2001), “Unit Root Tests for Panel Data”, Journal of International Money and Finance, 20(2), 249-272.
  14. Costanza, R. et al. (2009), “Beyond GDP: the need for new measures of progress”, The Pardee Papers No. 4., Pardee School of Global Studies.
  15. Cypher, J. & J. Dietz (2009), The process of economic development (3rd ed.), Routledge.
  16. Dawson, P. (1997), “On testing Kuznets’ economic growth hypothesis”, Applied Economics, 4(7), 409-410.
  17. Dynan, K. & L. Sheiner (2018), “GDP as a measure of economic well-being”, Hutchins Center Working Paper 43, Brookings.
  18. Eberhardt, M. & S. Bond (2009), “Cross-section dependence in nonstationary panel models: a novel estimator”, Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 17870.
  19. Gallet, C.A. & R.M. Gallet (2004), “U.S. growth and income inequality: evidence of racial differences”, The Social Science Journal, 41, 43-51.
  20. Gönel, F.D. (2016), Kalkınma ekonomisi, Efil Yayınevi.
  21. Gujarati, D.N. (2021), Basic econometrics, The McGraw-Hill Companies.
  22. Günaydın, D. & M. Çetin (2015), “The impact of economic growth and trade openness on income inequality: an empirical analysis for Turkish economy”, International Refereed Academic Social Sciences Journal, 20, 58-82.
  23. Hamadeh, N. et al. (2021, July 1), New World Bank country classifications by income level: 2021-2022, World Bank.
  24. Han, E. & A.A. Kaya (2015), Kalkınma ekonomisi teori ve politika, Nobel Yayıncılık.
  25. Hopkins, M. (1991), “Human development revisited: A new UNDP report”, World Development, 19(10), 1469-1473.
  26. Hossain, S.M. (2013), “Does economic development require more income inequality? is the Kuznets curve still valid?”, Developing Country Studies, 3(8), 196-205.
  27. Jha, S.K. (1996), “The Kuznets curve: a reassessment”, World Development, 24(4), 773-780.
  28. Kaynak, M. (2009), Kalkınma iktisadı, Gazi Kitabevi.
  29. Keeley, B. (2015), “Income inequality: the gap between rich and poor”, OECD Report.
  30. Kılıç, R. & E. Gökçeli (2024), “Gelir Eşitsizliğine İnsani Gelişme Endeksi Yönüyle Yeni Bir Bakış Açısı”, Kafkas Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 15(29), 214-242.
  31. Kuznets, S. (1955), “Economic growth and income inequality”, The American Economic Review, 45(1), 1-28.
  32. Lazar, D. & C. Litan (2023), “Inequality, growth, and structural transformation: new evidence from a post-communist economy”, Comparative Economic Studies, 66, 236-260.
  33. List, J.A. & C.A. Gallet (1999), “The Kuznets curve: what happens after the inverted-U?”, Review of Development Economics, 3(2), 200-206.
  34. Maddala, G.S. & S. Wu (1999), “A Comparative Study of Unit Root Tests with Panel Data and a New Simple Test”, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 61(1), 631-652.
  35. Mahler, D.G. et al. (2022), “The impact of COVID-19 on global inequality and poverty”, Policy Research Working Papers 10198, World Bank.
  36. Maneejuk, P. et al. (2021), “Does the Kuznets curve exist in Thailand? A two decades’ perspective (1993-2015)”, Annals of Operations Research, 300, 545-576.
  37. Martínez-Navarro, D. et al. (2022), “The Kuznets curve hypothesis checked out on up-to-date observations in African countries”, Journal of Asian and African Studies, 57(4), 819-840.
  38. Martínez-Navarro, D.A.F. & A. Guarnido-Rueda (2020), “Inequality and development: is the Kuznets curve in effect today?”, Economia Politica, 37, 703-735.
  39. Matyas, L. et al. (1998), “The Kuznets U-curve hypothesis: some panel data evidence”, Applied Economic Letters, 5(11), 693-697.
  40. Mbaku, J.M. (1997), “Inequality in income distribution and economic development: evidence using alternative measures of development”, Journal of Economic Development, 22(2), 57-67.
  41. McCoskey, S. & C. Kao (1998), “A residual-based test of the null of cointegration in panel data”, Econometric Reviews, 17(1), 57-84.
  42. Melikhova, O. & J. Cizek (2014), “Kuznets inverted U-curve hypothesis examined on up-to date observations for 145 countries”, Prague Economic Papers, 23(3), 386-408.
  43. Milanovic, B. (2018), Küresel eşitsizlik: küreselleşme çağı için yeni bir yaklaşım, Efil Yayınevi.
  44. Oczki, J. et al. (2017), “Kuznets hypothesis of income inequality: empirical evidence from EU”, Hradec Economic Days, 7(1), 643-651.
  45. Oyvat, C. (2015), “Structural change and the Kuznets hypothesis”, Greenwich Papers in Political Economy.
  46. Özdemir, D. et al. (2011), “Ekonomik büyüme ve gelir dağılımı ilişkileri”, in: International Conference on Eurasian Economies (440-447).
  47. Papanek, G.F. & O. Kyn (1986), “The effect on income distribution of development, the growth rate and economic strategy”, Journal of Development Economics, 23(1), 55-65.
  48. Pesaran, H. (2004), “General diagnostic tests for cross-section dependence in panels”, Cambridge WP 0435 in Economics.
  49. Pesaran, M.H. & T. Yamagata (2008), “Testing slope homogeneity in large panels”, Journal of Econometrics, 142(1), 50-93.
  50. Piketty, T. (2021), Yirmibirinci yüzyılda kapital, Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.
  51. Piketty, T. (2022), Eşitsizlikler ekonomisi, Epsilon Yayınevi.
  52. Ram, R. (1991), “Kuznets's inverted-U hypothesis: evidence from a highly developed country”, Southern Economic Journal, 27(4), 1112-1123.
  53. Ram, R. (1997), “Level of economic development and income inequality: evidence from the postwar developed world”, Southern Economic Journal, 64(2), 576-583.
  54. Riveros-Gavilanes, J.M. et al. (2022, February), “Economic development and income inequality: Findings from regional panel data analyses”, MSR Working Paper No. 001-2022, M&S Research Hub Institute.
  55. Sarafidis, V. et al. (2009), “A test of cross-section dependence for a linear dynamic panel model with regressors”, Journal of Econometrics, 148(2), 149-161.
  56. Sinha, N. (2005), “Growth, inequality and structural adjustment: an empirical interpretation of the S-curve for the Indian economy”, in: R. Jha (ed.), Economic growth, economic performance and welfare in South Asia (369-383), Palgrave Macmillan.
  57. Swamy, P.A.V.B. (1970), “Efficient inference in a random coefficient regression model”, Econometrica, 38(2), 311-323.
  58. Tarakcıoğlu-Altınay, A. et al. (2024), “The Linkage between Economic Development and Income Distribution in MIST Countries: Panel ARDL Analysis”, Ekonomi Politika ve Finans Araştırmaları Dergisi, 9(4), 729-742.
  59. Theyson, K.C. & L.R. Heller (2015), “Development and income inequality: a new specification of the Kuznets hypothesis”, The Journal of Developing Areas, 49(3), 103-118.
  60. Todaro, M.P. (1992), “Human Development Report 1992”, Population and Development Review, 18(2), 359-363.
  61. Tokatlıoğlu, İ. & M. Atan (2007), “Türkiye'de bölgeler arası gelişmişlik düzeyi ve gelir dağılımı eşitsizliği: Kuznets eğrisi geçerli mi?”, Ekonomik Yaklaşım, 18(65), 25-58.
  62. Topuz, S.G. & Ö. Dağdemir (2016), “Ekonomik büyüme ve gelir eşitsizliği ilişkisi: Kuznets ters-U hipotezi’nin geçerliliği”, Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi İİBF Dergisi, 11(3), 115-130.
  63. Tribble, R. (1996), “The Kuznets-Lewis process within the context of race and class in the U.S. economy”, International Advances in Economic Research, 2, 151-164.
  64. UNDP (2018), “Human development indicators and indices”, United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports.
  65. United Nations (2016), The Sustainable Development Goals Report, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
  66. Westerlund, J. & D.L. Edgerton (2007), “A panel bootstrap cointegration test”, Economics Letters, 97(3), 185-190.
  67. Yerdelen-Tatoğlu, F. (2020a), Panel zaman serileri analizi, Beta Yayınları.
  68. Yerdelen-Tatoğlu, F. (2020b), İleri panel veri analizi, Beta Yayınları.
  69. Zungu, L.T. et al. (2021), “Economic growth and income inequality: A non-linear econometrics analysis of the SADC region, 1990-2015”, African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 12(2), 285-301.