Anomaly, class division, and decoupling in income dynamics
Abstract
Economic inequality emerges from the interplay between regional growth-rate differences and the interaction network that couples regions. We propose a minimal income-dynamics model, where heterogeneity is governed by growth-rate assortativity A and regional concentration R, allowing us to quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of empirically observed log-income distributions. To systematically analyze these patterns, we derive closed-form approximations for the Hellinger distance and the Gini index in limiting configurations. Our findings highlight the spatial segregation of growth rates as a key driver of economic class division and demonstrate how small-world shortcuts in the underlying network can disrupt this segregation. Finally, our framework provides a robust explanation for the bimodality and strong regional correlations found in global income distributions.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis
Income
Poverty
and Inequality
Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical review. E
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 054305–054305
- Publication date
- 22 April 2026
- Language
- EN