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Skill-Biased Technological Change and Inequality in the U.S

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Ferreira

    (Nova School of Business and Economics)

Abstract

Since the 1980s, income inequality has increased markedly and has reached the highest level ever since it started being recorded in the U.S. This paper uses an overlapping generations model with incomplete markets that allows for household heterogeneity that is calibrated to match the U.S. economy with the purpose to study how skill-biased technological change (SBTC) and changes in taxation quantitatively account for the increase in inequality from 1980 to 2010. We find that SBTC and taxation decrease account for 48% of the total increase in the income Gini coefficient. In particular, we conclude that SBTC alone accounted for 42% of the overall increase in income inequality, while changes in the progressivity of the income tax schedule alone accounted for 5.7%.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Ferreira, 2020. "Skill-Biased Technological Change and Inequality in the U.S," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 51, pages 91-107, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gmf:journl:y:2020:i:51:p:91:107
    DOI: 10.14195/2183-203X_51_5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technical change; income inequality; wealth inequality; heterogeneity; taxation.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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