Rising income inequality has recently garnered intensive attention owing to its significance in theory and practice.This has rendered the mechanism through which inequality can be understood, even from a microscopic perspective, to Lunchbag institute proper policies that curtail it important.We contribute to the literature by examining the effect of freedom on income inequality using data from 34 least-free and 18 most-free countries from 2000 to 2020 in Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe, respectively.A novel fixed-effects panel quantile regression econometric estimator was employed, and the findings showed a non-linear relationship between personal freedom and income inequality for both regions.Again, both regions reported an inverse relationship between personal freedom and income inequality within the medium-run quantiles.
However, a positive relationship was reported in the short-run and long-run quantiles of Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe, respectively, whereas the inverse was the same.Finally, the significant adverse relationship was more dominant in Western Europe, implying that high levels 5 HTP of personal freedom in the region explain the low levels of income inequality compared to Sub-Saharan Africa, which has lower levels of personal freedom and higher income inequality.Concerning the findings, it is recommended that policymakers and governments of least- and most-free regions institutionalise personal liberties that support human capital development and establish mechanisms to implement enacted freedoms.