Points of Convergence and Divergence: Long Run, between Country Inequality Trends in Health, Fertility, Education, and Income

Shawn F. Dorius, University of Michigan

This research introduces a generalized framework for the study of international and global inequality and suggests a theory of inequality transitions. I argue that long-run trends in inequality across a broad range of indicators share many features in common. This research offers 1) a methodological toolkit for the empirical analysis of international and global inequality studies, with particular attention to non-pecuniary measures of human well-being, 2) some of the first estimates of the worldwide distribution of fertility inequality in longitudinal design using a number of inequality indexes and regression convergence tests, including supplementary analysis in the health, education, and income domains, and 3) a generalized and testable theory of inequality transitions that explains the inequality life-cycle across remarkably different domains. I test my hypotheses using historic and contemporary national-level data for a range of outcome variables, including health, fertility, income, and education.