Using taxation statistics, we first derive consistently defined Gini coefficients for the period 1942-2013 for Australia as a whole as well as its eight states and territories. While income inequality exhibited a downward trend until 1979, it has since been on the rise not only over time, but also across states and territories. We then proceed to examine the effect of inequality on economic growth after controlling for changes arising from investment in physical and human capital using available panel data across all states and territories (1986-2013). We find that inequality adversely affects economic growth with a couple of years delay, an outcome consistent with similar studies undertaken in the United States and Europe. Our findings suggest that policymakers can address rising income inequality by implementing measures that support, and enhance, human capital accumulation given its long-run economic and social benefits.

This study assesses the long-run relationship and short-run dynamics between foreign direct investment (FDI) and energy consumption in China. Applying the bounds testing approach to annual data from 1982 to 2012, we find that a stable FDI-energy nexus exists in the long run and a 1% increase in FDI reduces energy consumption by 0.21%.However, this study shows a positive association between FDI and energy consumption in the short run, attributing to the dominance of the scale effect. Our results remain robust to different measurements and estimators. It is suggested that the Chinese government shall support the inward FDI in the tertiary and energy sectors and strengthen local absorptive capacities to fully internalize FDI-related knowledge spillovers in energy conservation.

This article investigates the dynamic relationship between human capital and energy consumption using Chinese provincial data over the period 1990-2010. Considering for cross-sectional dependence and parameter heterogeneity across space and over time, we identify a significant and negative human capital-energy consumption relationship in China. Specifically, we find that a 1% increase in human capital reduces energy consumption by a range between 0.18% and 0.45%. Furthermore, this negative relationship can be attributed to stronger accumulation of post-school human capital in eastern China. This finding suggests that energy conservation in China could be achieved by improving post-school human-capital components such as on-the-job training, experience and learning-by-doing.