Keating, Michael D.2008-05-08NO_RESTRIC2008-05-082008-05-08https://hdl.handle.net/1920/3003In this thesis I examine the nation state’s place in the formulation and understanding of global income inequality. The literature is very conflicted on the directional relationship between neoliberal economic globalization and income inequality. I theorize that current measurements of inequality, which use countries as “units” of measurement, are insufficient. A subnational analysis of inequality shows varied rises and falls in inequality across a national space. The varied directional impacts of neoliberal economic globalization on income inequality in this paper helps to shed light on why there is so much conflict in the literature. I further argue that future analyses of income inequality should move beyond the state as a unit of analysis so that the true impacts of decentralized economic policies, government programs, and the overall effects of globalization can be understood by states, policy makers, and nongovernmental organizations.en-USInequalityGlobalizationNeoliberalBrazilMexicoSouth AfricaThesis