Accounting for Economic Inequality: A Literature Review of Social Impact Reporting and Disclosure
Abstract
This article examines the role of accounting in disclosing and reporting social impacts related to economic inequality through a systematic literature review. The literature review method was used to analyze and synthesize relevant articles and sources. The results show that accounting plays an important role in measuring and reporting economic inequality. In addition, some common indicators used to measure economic inequality are explained. Key challenges in reporting economic inequality include data limitations, supply chain complexity, and variations in reporting standards across sectors and countries. This measurement and reporting are not only important for companies to demonstrate social responsibility, but also as a tool to create more inclusive and equitable policies. This article recommends the development of a more consistent reporting framework, increased transparency, and the integration of inequality measurement into companies' core business strategies. The findings of this article provide a basis for developing accounting practices that are more responsive to the issue of economic inequality and encourage further research in this area.
References
Alvaredo, F. (2018). World Inequality Report 2018. Harvard University Press. https://www.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=-D6SDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=world+inequality+report+2018+alvaredo&ots=RCd3NRwnWD&sig=hKmIHOaRyPtEg4l51Z0CkREXLVo
Amis, J. M., Mair, J., & Munir, K. A. (2020). The Organizational Reproduction of Inequality. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 195–230. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0033
Auliana, N. A., Irfan, A., Nazlina, L., & Diningsih, E. (2023). Preliminary Study: Accounting For Economic Inequality in The Context of SDGs. Proceeding International Conference on Economic and Social Sciences, 1, 270–282. https://icess.uin-suska.ac.id/index.php/1/article/view/15
Auspurg, K., Hinz, T., & Sauer, C. (2017). Why Should Women Get Less? Evidence on the Gender Pay Gap from Multifactorial Survey Experiments. American Sociological Review, 82(1), 179–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122416683393
Bapuji, H. (2015). Individuals, interactions and institutions: How economic inequality affects organizations. Human Relations, 68(7), 1059–1083. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715584804
Bapuji, H., Ertug, G., & Shaw, J. D. (2020). Organizations and Societal Economic Inequality: A Review and Way Forward. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 60–91. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0029
Bebbington, J., & Larrinaga, C. (2014). Accounting and sustainable development: An exploration. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 39(6), 395–413.
Bengtsson, E., & Waldenström, D. (2018). Capital shares and income inequality: Evidence from the long run. The Journal of Economic History, 78(3), 712–743.
Benhabib, J., & Bisin, A. (2018). Skewed wealth distributions: Theory and empirics. Journal of Economic Literature, 56(4), 1261–1291.
Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The gender wage gap: Extent, trends, and explanations. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3), 789–865.
Brown, J., & Dillard, J. (2021). Accounting for non-financial matters: Technologies of humility as a means for developing critical dialogic accounting and accountability. Meditari Accountancy Research, 29(2), 197–218.
Castilla, E. J. (2015). Accounting for the Gap: A Firm Study Manipulating Organizational Accountability and Transparency in Pay Decisions. Organization Science, 26(2), 311–333. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2014.0950
Cobham, A., Schlögl, L., & Sumner, A. (2016). Inequality and the Tails: The Palma Proposition and Ratio. Global Policy, 7(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12320
Damanik, A. M., Zulgani, Z., & Rosmeli, R. (2018). Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi ketimpangan pendapatan melalui pertumbuhan ekonomi di Provinsi Jambi. E-Jurnal Perspektif Ekonomi Dan Pembangunan Daerah, 7(1), 15–25.
Dang, H.-A. H., & Serajuddin, U. (2020). Tracking the sustainable development goals: Emerging measurement challenges and further reflections. World Development, 127, 104570.
Firebaugh, G. (2015). Global income inequality. Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey. https://emergingtrends.stanford.edu/files/original/76ed7121f79edba6f902966365816c8dde8d2792.pdf
Fosu, A. K. (2017). Growth, inequality, and poverty reduction in developing countries: Recent global evidence. Research in Economics, 71(2), 306–336.
Galbraith, J., & Choi, J. (2020). The consequences of economic inequality for presidential elections in the United States. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 53, 86–98.
Garbinti, B., Goupille-Lebret, J., & Piketty, T. (2018). Income inequality in France, 1900–2014: Evidence from distributional national accounts (DINA). Journal of Public Economics, 162, 63–77.
García-Castro, J. D., Rodríguez-Bailón, R., & Willis, G. B. (2020). Perceiving economic inequality in everyday life decreases tolerance to inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 90, 104019.
Gómez-Bezares, F., Przychodzen, W., & Przychodzen, J. (2019). Corporate sustainability and CEO–employee pay gap—Buster or booster? Sustainability, 11(21), 6023.
Haller, A., Van Staden, C. J., & Landis, C. (2018). Value Added as part of Sustainability Reporting: Reporting on Distributional Fairness or Obfuscation? Journal of Business Ethics, 152(3), 763–781. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3338-9
Hung, H. (2021). Recent Trends in Global Economic Inequality. Annual Review of Sociology, 47(1), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090320-105810
Jean-Paul, F., & Martine, D. (2018). Beyond GDP measuring what counts for economic and social performance: Measuring what counts for economic and social performance. OECD Publishing. https://www.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=OG58DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=Beyond+GDP:+Measuring+What+Counts+for+Economic+and+Social+Performance&ots=DT12qtq-O2&sig=T5LrZfI6exkheplLuVdrXc6w9xg
Jenkins, S. P. (1995). Accounting for Inequality Trends: Decomposition Analyses for the UK, 1971- 86. Economica, 62(245), 29–63. https://doi.org/10.2307/2554775
Kiatpongsan, S., & Norton, M. I. (2014). How Much (More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(6), 587–593. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614549773
Konigsburg, J. A. (2017). The economic and ethical implications of living wages. Religions, 8(4), 74.
Kuciswara, D., Muslihatinningsih, F., & Santoso, E. (2021). Pengaruh urbanisasi, tingkat kemiskinan, dan ketimpangan pendapatan terhadap kriminalitas di Provinsi Jawa Timur. Jae (Jurnal Akuntansi Dan Ekonomi), 6(3), 1–9.
Lakner, C., Mahler, D. G., Negre, M., & Prydz, E. B. (2022). How much does reducing inequality matter for global poverty? The Journal of Economic Inequality, 20(3), 559–585. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-021-09510-w
Leuz, C., & Wysocki, P. D. (2016). The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(2), 525–622. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12115
Lev, B. (2016). The End of Accounting and the path forward for investors and managers. John Wiley & Sons. Inc. https://www.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=kWbpCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=lev+and+gu+2016&ots=evfaniiFnN&sig=2xaQ-2HRlAcZdve74F3JlsnzqFw
Makhlouf, Y. (2023). Trends in Income Inequality: Evidence from Developing and Developed Countries. Social Indicators Research, 165(1), 213–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-03010-8
Mani, V., Delgado, C., Hazen, B. T., & Patel, P. (2017). Mitigating supply chain risk via sustainability using big data analytics: Evidence from the manufacturing supply chain. Sustainability, 9(4), 608.
Mardinsyah, A. A., & Sukartini, N. M. (2020). Ketimpangan Ekonomi, Kemiskinan Dan Akses Informasi: Bagaimana Pengaruhnya Terhadap Kriminalitas Di Indonesia? Ekonika: Jurnal Ekonomi Universitas Kadiri, 5(1), 19.
Marpaung, T. A., Daei, M. I., Habibi, D., & Harahap, N. (2024). Strategi Pembangunan Nasional Terhadap Ketimpangan Ekonomi Antar Daerah Perspektif Ekonomi Islam. Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu Ekonomi Dan Keuangan Syariah, 2(1), 317–334.
Maskur, S. R. R., Aedy, H., Saenong, Z., & Alwi, S. (2023). Pengaruh Ketimpangan Pendapatan, Pengangguran Dn Pembangunan Manusia Terhadap Kemiskinan Di Indonesia Periode 2017-2021. JPEP (Jurnal Progres Ekonomi Pembangunan), 8(1), 82–95.
Milanovic, B. (2016). Global inequality: A new approach for the age of globalization. Harvard University Press. https://www.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=ggnbCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Milanovic,+Branko.+2016.+Global+Inequality:+A+New+Approach+for+the+Age+of+Globalization.+Cambridge:+Harvard+University+Press.&ots=AywVS63atR&sig=2_uJNR83iHs1ctj8e7ougJsWnRo
Mohamad, N. M., Masron, T. A., Wijayanti, R., & Jamil, M. M. (2020). Islamic banking and income inequality: The role of corporate social responsibility. Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 54(2), 77–90.
Morlà-Folch, T., Aubert Simon, A., De Freitas, A. B., & Hernández-Lara, A. B. (2021). The Mondragon Case: Companies Addressing Social Impact and Dialogic Methodologies. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 16094069211058614. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211058614
Mueller, H. M., Ouimet, P. P., & Simintzi, E. (2017). Within-firm pay inequality. The Review of Financial Studies, 30(10), 3605–3635.
Nightingale, A. (2009). A guide to systematic literature reviews. Surgery (Oxford), 27(9), 381–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpsur.2009.07.005
Oishi, S., & Kesebir, S. (2015). Income Inequality Explains Why Economic Growth Does Not Always Translate to an Increase in Happiness. Psychological Science, 26(10), 1630–1638. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615596713
Pan, Y., Pikulina, E. S., Siegel, S., & Wang, T. Y. (2022). Do Equity Markets Care about Income Inequality? Evidence from Pay Ratio Disclosure. The Journal of Finance, 77(2), 1371–1411. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.13113
Panzera, D., & Postiglione, P. (2020). Measuring the Spatial Dimension of Regional Inequality: An Approach Based on the Gini Correlation Measure. Social Indicators Research, 148(2), 379–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02208-7
Paré, G., & Kitsiou, S. (2017). Methods for literature reviews. In Handbook of eHealth evaluation: An evidence-based approach [Internet]. University of Victoria. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK481583/
Peterson, E. W. F. (2017). Is economic inequality really a problem? A review of the arguments. Social Sciences, 6(4), 147.
Piketty, T., & Saez, E. (2014). Inequality in the long run. Science, 344(6186), 838–843. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1251936
Przychodzen, W., & Gómez-Bezares, F. (2021). CEO–employee pay gap, productivity and value creation. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(5), 196.
Ravallion, M. (2018). Inequality and globalization: A review essay. Journal of Economic Literature, 56(2), 620–642.
Rubin, A., & Segal, D. (2015). The effects of economic growth on income inequality in the US. Journal of Macroeconomics, 45, 258–273.
Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2020). The rise of income and wealth inequality in America: Evidence from distributional macroeconomic accounts. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(4), 3–26.
Sani, S. R., Fitri, C. D., Amri, K., Muliadi, M., & Ikhsan, I. (2022). Dampak Pandemi Covid-19 terhadap Pengangguran, Kemiskinan dan Ketimpangan Pendapatan: Bukti Data Panel di Indonesia. Ekonomis: Journal of Economics and Business, 6(1), 107–115.
Saputra, M. I., & Zulham, T. (2023). ANALISIS FAKTOR FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KETIMPANGAN DISTRIBUSI PENDAPATAN DI KOTA BANDA ACEH. Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa Ekonomi Pembangunan, 8(3), 178–188.
Sheehy, B. (2022). Sustainability, Justice and Corporate Law: Redistributing Corporate Rights and Duties to Meet the Challenge of Sustainability. European Business Organization Law Review, 23(1), 273–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40804-021-00235-x
Sikka, P. (2015). The hand of accounting and accountancy firms in deepening income and wealth inequalities and the economic crisis: Some evidence. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 30, 46–62.
Sinha, A., Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Zafar, M. W., & Saleem, M. M. (2022). Analyzing global inequality in access to energy: Developing policy framework by inequality decomposition. Journal of Environmental Management, 304, 114299.
Sitthiyot, T., & Holasut, K. (2020). A simple method for measuring inequality. Palgrave Communications, 6(1), 1–9.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339.
Sologon, D. M., Van Kerm, P., Li, J., & O’Donoghue, C. (2021). Accounting for differences in income inequality across countries: Tax-benefit policy, labour market structure, returns and demographics. The Journal of Economic Inequality, 19(1), 13–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-020-09454-7
Solt, F. (2016). The Standardized World Income Inequality Database*. Social Science Quarterly, 97(5), 1267–1281. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12295
Spence, L. J., & Rinaldi, L. (2014). Governmentality in accounting and accountability: A case study of embedding sustainability in a supply chain. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 39(6), 433–452.
Sugiyarto, S., Mulyo, J. H., & Seleky, R. N. (2015). Kemiskinan dan ketimpangan pendapatan rumah tangga di Kabupaten Bojonegoro. Agro Ekonomi, 26(2), 115–120.
Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2020). Economic development. Pearson UK. https://www.google.com/books?hl=id&lr=&id=UeksEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT22&dq=economic+development+michael+todaro+2015&ots=kgvklwPKZL&sig=rn4UobwTrcIjCA9eWet269_hU-0
Tweedie, D., & Hazelton, J. (2019). Economic inequality: Problems and perspectives for interdisciplinary accounting research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 32(7), 1982–2003.
Van Leeuwen, B., & Földvári, P. (2016). The Development of Inequality and Poverty in Indonesia, 1932–2008. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 52(3), 379–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2016.1184226
Wibowo, T. (2016). Ketimpangan pendapatan dan Middle income trap. Kajian Ekonomi Dan Keuangan, 20(2), 111–132.
Yu, S. (2018). Uncovering the hidden impacts of inequality on mental health: A global study. Translational Psychiatry, 8(1), 98.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ella Rinjani Dermawan, Andi Irfan, Yunita Ismaya
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.