The effects of income distribution on consumer imports

The aim of this paper is to examine empirically the proposition that disaggregated income is important in determining the imports of consumer goods. An estimable equation is derived and tested using annual data (1962–84). The technique of Autoregressive Generalized Least Squares is used throughout along with tests for statistical bias. The results are supportive of the main hypothesis of the paper that income distribution exerts a powerful and statistically significant influence on the imports of consumer durables. Finally, the implications of income distribution on the balance of payments are discussed