Structural change and inequality in a general equilibrium model of a transition economy

Abstract The paper studies the role of economic transition in the evolution of wealth inequality. We build a novel overlapping generations model that features heterogeneous workers and exogenous changes: (i) a structural change shifting employment from manufacturing to services and increasing educational attainment, (ii) TFP growth along the path of macroeconomic convergence and (iii) gains in longevity. Using this model, we quantify the role of structural change in the evolution of wealth inequality in Poland as of 1990. We show that a rise in wealth inequality because of growing longevity is lower in an economy undergoing structural change. Thus, structural change per se lowers wealth inequality, at least initially. We also provide an evaluation of a policy‐relevant redistribution instrument.