The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values

Bark Soon Il; Kang Ku Young

doi:doi:10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

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The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values

Bark Soon Il^*, Kang Ku Young

Published in Economics (Volume 15, Issue 1)

Received: 2 September 2025 Accepted: 24 December 2025 Published: 19 January 2026

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Abstract

The virtuous and vicious cycle between economic growth and income distribution has been discussed for a long time. Especially, Korea, which has been divided into south and north Korea, has experienced serious ideological conflicts last several decades during the unprecedentedly rapid economic development since 1960s. Barro (2000) and others recently assert the inverted U-shaped hypothesis of Simon Kuznets between the two. This paper suggests the possibility of a ‘U’-shape relationship between growth and distribution is empirically estimated with recent OECD data which means more advanced countries to be represented than before. And a cyclical relationship is also assumed in the long-term changes of the Gini coefficient by income level, because Kuznets’ inverted ‘U’ hypothesis is also presumed to be appropriate in developing or less developed countries. This paper also emphasizes that social conflict between proponents for the two is unavoidable and thus we need a model to maximize national happiness to reduce the conflict by exchanging compensation values between losers and gainers using big data and AI technology. The AI technology seems to take very important role to find such social values in conflicting issues particularly complicated by political ideologies, because politicians have used to distort reasonable resources distribution, shrink growth potentiality and threaten the prosperity of the future generation.

Published in	Economics (Volume 15, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
Page(s)	1-13
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Growth and Distribution, Cyclical Relationship, Social Conflicts, Compensation Value, AI Technology

References

[1]	Kang, Ku Young, The date Analysis Process, a working paper in Korea Social Policy Institute, 2023.7.11.
[2]	Bark Soon-il, Analyzing the Turning Point of the Korean Economy and Policy Direction, Economic Technology Research Center of the Federation of Korean Industries, 1979.
[3]	Bark Soon-il, Moon Byeong yoon, et al., Social welfare demand analysis of the low-income class, Korea Health and Social Rescue Service 91-05, 1991.
[4]	Bark Soon-il, Analysis of Social Welfare Demand of Low-income Classes, Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs, 1991.
[5]	Bark Soon-Il, Ham Si-Chang, Lee Pil Do, etc., Analysis of poverty factors in Korea and countermeasures, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs 92-30, 1993.
[6]	Bark Soon-il, Conflict and Co-existence in Economic Growth and Distribution and the Impact of Population, Korean Social Policy, 2005.
[7]	Bark Soon-il, Hwang Jun seong, Park Won chul, 21st century integration of Korean society and the direction of policy ideology, 2009, Korea Social Policy Institute Journal of Journalism 18.
[8]	Bark Soon-il, Economic and Social Cyclical Development and Full Employment for the Promotion of National Happiness, Economic Development Research Vol. 23 No. 1, 2017, Korea Economic Development Association.
[9]	Bark, Soon Il, Cyclical Balanced Development of Economy and Society for Full Employment and National Happiness, Economics, ISSN: 2376-659X (print): ISSN: 2376-6603 (online), Science Publishing Group, 2019.
[10]	Bark Soon Il, Yong chan Byun, Discovery and Realization of Social and Economic Values, Korea Social Policy Institute, Nonchong 24, 2021.
[11]	Yong jung Park, Is Korea no longer a model country for economic growth? The Impact of Distribution on Economic Growth and Challenges, Economic Week 17-19 (Volume No. 744), 2017, Hyundai Research Institute.
[12]	Park Chan-guk, Kim Hyun-jae (2015). A study on the development direction of the new energy industry through the Internet of Things - Exploring future signals using text mining. Energy Economics Institute.
[13]	Ju young Song, Taemin Song (2018). Crime prediction using big data-focused on machine learning. Bull Step Academy.
[14]	Statistics Korea, Social Indicators of Korea, 2020 and National Statistics Portal, etc.
[15]	Arne Bigsten, Income Distribution and Development, Theory, Evidence, and Policy, 1983, Heinemann⦁London.
[16]	Barro, R. J., Inequality and Growth in a Panel of Countries, Journal of Economic Growth, 5: 5-32, Mar. 2000.
[17]	Cline, William R., Distribution and Development: A Survey of the Literature. Journal of Development Economics, 1; 359-400.
[18]	FÖrster, Michael. Trends in Inequality in OECD Countries: Drivers, Consequences, and Policy Options, 2016 4th Social Integration Forum, Trends in Inequality and Policy Options, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 2016.12.07.
[19]	Gary S, Fields, Poverty, Inequality, and Development, Cambridge University Press.
[20]	Jeyoung Moon and Dong Hyun Kim, On the Dynamic Relationship Between Inequality and Economic Growth, Seoul Journal of Economics, vol. 35, No. 3, Aug. 2022.
[21]	Kuznets (1955), Economic Growth and Income Inequality, American Economic Review, vol. 45.
[22]	Kuznets (1963), Quantitative od Economic Growth of Nations VIII: Distribution of Income by Size, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Volume II.
[23]	Kuznets, S., Economic Growth, Yales, 1966.

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APA Style

Il, B. S., Young, K. K. (2026). The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values. Economics, 15(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

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ACS Style

Il, B. S.; Young, K. K. The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values. Economics. 2026, 15(1), 1-13. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

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AMA Style

Il BS, Young KK. The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values. Economics. 2026;15(1):1-13. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

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@article{10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11,
  author = {Bark Soon Il and Kang Ku Young},
  title = {The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values},
  journal = {Economics},
  volume = {15},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-13},
  doi = {10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eco.20261501.11},
  abstract = {The virtuous and vicious cycle between economic growth and income distribution has been discussed for a long time. Especially, Korea, which has been divided into south and north Korea, has experienced serious ideological conflicts last several decades during the unprecedentedly rapid economic development since 1960s. Barro (2000) and others recently assert the inverted U-shaped hypothesis of Simon Kuznets between the two. This paper suggests the possibility of a ‘U’-shape relationship between growth and distribution is empirically estimated with recent OECD data which means more advanced countries to be represented than before. And a cyclical relationship is also assumed in the long-term changes of the Gini coefficient by income level, because Kuznets’ inverted ‘U’ hypothesis is also presumed to be appropriate in developing or less developed countries. This paper also emphasizes that social conflict between proponents for the two is unavoidable and thus we need a model to maximize national happiness to reduce the conflict by exchanging compensation values between losers and gainers using big data and AI technology. The AI technology seems to take very important role to find such social values in conflicting issues particularly complicated by political ideologies, because politicians have used to distort reasonable resources distribution, shrink growth potentiality and threaten the prosperity of the future generation.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values
AU  - Bark Soon Il
AU  - Kang Ku Young
Y1  - 2026/01/19
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
T2  - Economics
JF  - Economics
JO  - Economics
SP  - 1
EP  - 13
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6603
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
AB  - The virtuous and vicious cycle between economic growth and income distribution has been discussed for a long time. Especially, Korea, which has been divided into south and north Korea, has experienced serious ideological conflicts last several decades during the unprecedentedly rapid economic development since 1960s. Barro (2000) and others recently assert the inverted U-shaped hypothesis of Simon Kuznets between the two. This paper suggests the possibility of a ‘U’-shape relationship between growth and distribution is empirically estimated with recent OECD data which means more advanced countries to be represented than before. And a cyclical relationship is also assumed in the long-term changes of the Gini coefficient by income level, because Kuznets’ inverted ‘U’ hypothesis is also presumed to be appropriate in developing or less developed countries. This paper also emphasizes that social conflict between proponents for the two is unavoidable and thus we need a model to maximize national happiness to reduce the conflict by exchanging compensation values between losers and gainers using big data and AI technology. The AI technology seems to take very important role to find such social values in conflicting issues particularly complicated by political ideologies, because politicians have used to distort reasonable resources distribution, shrink growth potentiality and threaten the prosperity of the future generation.
VL  - 15
IS  - 1
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Author Information

Bark Soon Il

Research Department, Korea Social Policy Institute, Seoul, Korea

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Kang Ku Young

Research Department, Korea Social Policy Institute, Seoul, Korea

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APA Style

Il, B. S., Young, K. K. (2026). The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values. Economics, 15(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

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ACS Style

Il, B. S.; Young, K. K. The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values. Economics. 2026, 15(1), 1-13. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

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AMA Style

Il BS, Young KK. The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values. Economics. 2026;15(1):1-13. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11,
  author = {Bark Soon Il and Kang Ku Young},
  title = {The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values},
  journal = {Economics},
  volume = {15},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-13},
  doi = {10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eco.20261501.11},
  abstract = {The virtuous and vicious cycle between economic growth and income distribution has been discussed for a long time. Especially, Korea, which has been divided into south and north Korea, has experienced serious ideological conflicts last several decades during the unprecedentedly rapid economic development since 1960s. Barro (2000) and others recently assert the inverted U-shaped hypothesis of Simon Kuznets between the two. This paper suggests the possibility of a ‘U’-shape relationship between growth and distribution is empirically estimated with recent OECD data which means more advanced countries to be represented than before. And a cyclical relationship is also assumed in the long-term changes of the Gini coefficient by income level, because Kuznets’ inverted ‘U’ hypothesis is also presumed to be appropriate in developing or less developed countries. This paper also emphasizes that social conflict between proponents for the two is unavoidable and thus we need a model to maximize national happiness to reduce the conflict by exchanging compensation values between losers and gainers using big data and AI technology. The AI technology seems to take very important role to find such social values in conflicting issues particularly complicated by political ideologies, because politicians have used to distort reasonable resources distribution, shrink growth potentiality and threaten the prosperity of the future generation.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Cyclical Relationship of Growth and Distribution, Social Conflict, and Realization of Social Values
AU  - Bark Soon Il
AU  - Kang Ku Young
Y1  - 2026/01/19
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
T2  - Economics
JF  - Economics
JO  - Economics
SP  - 1
EP  - 13
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6603
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20261501.11
AB  - The virtuous and vicious cycle between economic growth and income distribution has been discussed for a long time. Especially, Korea, which has been divided into south and north Korea, has experienced serious ideological conflicts last several decades during the unprecedentedly rapid economic development since 1960s. Barro (2000) and others recently assert the inverted U-shaped hypothesis of Simon Kuznets between the two. This paper suggests the possibility of a ‘U’-shape relationship between growth and distribution is empirically estimated with recent OECD data which means more advanced countries to be represented than before. And a cyclical relationship is also assumed in the long-term changes of the Gini coefficient by income level, because Kuznets’ inverted ‘U’ hypothesis is also presumed to be appropriate in developing or less developed countries. This paper also emphasizes that social conflict between proponents for the two is unavoidable and thus we need a model to maximize national happiness to reduce the conflict by exchanging compensation values between losers and gainers using big data and AI technology. The AI technology seems to take very important role to find such social values in conflicting issues particularly complicated by political ideologies, because politicians have used to distort reasonable resources distribution, shrink growth potentiality and threaten the prosperity of the future generation.
VL  - 15
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download