Role of Official Development Assistance, Foreign Direct Investment and Trade Openness in Reducing Income Inequality: An Empirical Analysis from Selected Asian Countries

Abstract

Income inequality has been increasing steadily in developing economies. Many factors are responsible for such income inequality and deteriorated economic growth in Asian economies. For this reason, a lot of debate has been made about reducing income inequality. Though the existing study also takes into account the important role of official development assistance, foreign direct investment, and trade openness in reducing income inequality in selected Asian countries, the study found that official development aid, foreign direct investment, trade openness, and labour force participation have greatly reduced income disparity in 10 Asian nations. For growth, good production and exports require more jobs. Globalization and international ties should be prioritized. Finally, economies need a stable economic and political environment to attract aid and foreign investment and grow and expand.