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Long Run Trends in Income Inequality in the United States, UK, Sweden, Germany and Canada: A Birth Cohort View

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Author Info
Lars Osberg () (Economics Department, Dalhousie University)

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Abstract

This paper examines the level and distribution of equivalent after tax, after transfer money income in Canada, the United States, the UK, Germany and Sweden using micro-data from the Luxembourg Income Study from 1969/70 to 1994/95. It concentrates on inequality within and between birth cohorts. At any point in time, less than 11% of aggregate income inequality is due to intergenerational inequality. Although median income growth of different birth cohorts over the period has varied widely across countries, there has been a general trend to greater income inequality within cohorts since 1980. The five countries studied differ in the trends observed in aggregate income, poverty, polarization and income inequality. In the United States and the UK, the incomes of the top decile of each cohort have risen dramatically, but the incomes of the bottom quintile have stagnated. In Canada and Sweden both the top and bottom deciles of each cohort have experienced similar trends. Germany is an intermediate case.

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File URL: http://college.holycross.edu/eej/Volume29/V29N1P121_141.pdf
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Eastern Economic Association in its journal Eastern Economic Journal.

Volume (Year): 29 (2003)
Issue (Month): 1 (Winter)
Pages: 121-141
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Handle: RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:29:y:2003:i:1:p:121-141

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Related research
Keywords: Distribution; Income; Inequality;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Lars Osberg & Kuan Xu, 1999. "Poverty Intensity: How Well Do Canadian Provinces Compare?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 25(2), pages 179-195, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Paul Beaudry & David A. Green, 2000. "Cohort patterns in Canadian earnings: assessing the role of skill premia in inequality trends," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 33(4), pages 907-936, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Coulter, Fiona A E & Cowell, Frank A & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1992. "Equivalence Scale Relativities and the Extent of Inequality and Poverty," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(414), pages 1067-82, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Shelley A. Phipps & Peter S. Burton, 1995. "Sharing within Families: Implications for the Measurement of Poverty among Individuals in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 28(1), pages 177-204, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Burbidge, John B & Magee, Lonnie & Robb, A Leslie, 1997. "Canadian Wage Inequality over the Last Two Decades," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 181-203.
  6. Lars Osberg, 1998. "Economic Insecurity," Discussion Papers 0088, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
  7. Phipps, Shelley & Garner, Thesia I, 1994. "Are Equivalence Scales the Same for the United States and Canada?," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1), pages 1-17, March.
  8. Osberg, Lars & Phipps, Shelley, 1993. "Labour Supply with Quantity Constraints: Estimates from a Large Sample of Canadian Workers," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 45(2), pages 269-91, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Daron Acemoglu, 2000. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 7800, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Burkhauser, Richard V & Smeeding, Timothy M & Merz, Joachim, 1996. "Relative Inequality and Poverty in Germany and the United States Using Alternative Equivalence Scales," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(4), pages 381-400, December.
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  11. Paolo Figini, 1998. "Inequality Measures, Equivalence Scales and Adjustment for Household Size and Composition," Economics Technical Papers 988, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  12. Doiron, Denise J & Barrett, Garry F, 1996. "Inequality in Male and Female Earnings: The Role of Hours and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(3), pages 410-20, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Peter Gottschalk & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1997. "Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 633-687, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Gabriella Berloffa & Paola Villa, 2007. "Inequality across cohorts of households: evidence from Italy," Department of Economics Working Papers 0711, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia. [Downloadable!]
  2. Frenette, Marc & Green, David A. & Milligan, Kevin, 2006. "Revisiting Recent Trends in Canadian After-Tax Income Inequality Using Census Data," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2006274e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch. [Downloadable!]
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