e Effect of Trade Openness on Income Inequality: The Case of Iran and Its Trading Partners

This paper has studied the effect of trade openness on income inequality in Iran and its ten major trading partners during the period 1990-2006. Following Spilimbergo and Londono (1999), the paper has specified an econometric model to explore the effect of trade openness on income inequality through focusing on relative production endowments, which include capital, agricultural land and human resources, including uneducated, elementary-secondary and higher educated labor force. The specified model has been estimated by the panel data approach over 1990-2006. The empirical results reveal the fact that trade openness increases inequality in those countries which have a higher rate of uneducated labor.