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Do Rising Top Incomes Lift All Boats?

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Author Info
Andrews, Dan (Harvard University)
Jencks, Christopher (Harvard University)
Leigh, Andrew (Australian National University)

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Abstract

Pooling data for 1905 to 2000, we find no systematic relationship between top income shares and economic growth in a panel of 12 developed nations observed for between 22 and 85 years. After 1960, however, a one percentage point rise in the top decile's income share is associated with a statistically significant 0.12 point rise in GDP growth during the following year. This relationship is not driven by changes in either educational attainment or top tax rates. If the increase in inequality is permanent, the increase in growth appears to be permanent, but it takes 13 years for the cumulative positive effect of faster growth on the mean income of the bottom nine deciles to offset the negative effect of reducing their share of total income.

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Paper provided by Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government in its series Working Paper Series with number rwp09-018.

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Date of creation: Jun 2009
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Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp09-018

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
O57 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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