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Using the P90/P10 Index to Measure US Inequality Trends with Current Population Survey Data: A View from Inside the Census Bureau Vaults

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Author Info
Richard V. Burkhauser () (Cornell University and IZA)
Shuaizhang Feng () (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)
Stephen P. Jenkins () (ISER, University of Essex, DIW Berlin and IZA)

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Abstract

The March Current Population Survey (CPS) is the primary data source for estimation of levels and trends in labor earnings and income inequality in the USA. Time-inconsistency problems related to top coding in theses data have led many researchers to use the ratio of the 90th and 10th percentiles of these distributions (P90/P10) rather than a more traditional summary measure of inequality. With access to public use and restricted-access internal CPS data, and bounding methods, we show that using P90/P10 does not completely obviate time-inconsistency problems, especially for household income inequality trends. Using internal data, we create consistent cell mean values for all top-coded public use values that, when used with public use data, closely track inequality trends in labor earnings and household income using internal data. But estimates of longer-term inequality trends with these corrected data based on P90/P10 differ from those based on the Gini coefficient. The choice of inequality measure matters.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2839.

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Length: 51 pages
Date of creation: Jun 2007
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2839

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Related research
Keywords: inequality; income; earnings; Current Population Survey; decile ratio; Gini coefficient;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
C8 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs

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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.:
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  2. Fichtenbaum, Rudy & Shahidi, Hushang, 1988. "Truncation Bias and the Measurement of Income Inequality," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 6(3), pages 335-37, July.
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  8. John Pencavel, 2006. "A Life Cycle Perspective on Changes in Earnings Inequality among Married Men and Women," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 232-242, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Feng, Shuaizhang & Burkhauser, Richard V. & Butler, J.S., 2006. "Levels and Long-Term Trends in Earnings Inequality: Overcoming Current Population Survey Censoring Problems Using the GB2 Distribution," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 24, pages 57-62, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M & Pierce, Brooks, 1993. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 410-42, 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. Richard V. Burkhauser & Shuaizhang Feng & Stephen P. Jenkins & Jeff Larrimore, 2008. "Estimating Trends in US Income Inequality Using the Current Population Survey: The Importance of Controlling for Censoring," NBER Working Papers 14247, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. repec:ese:iserwp: is not listed on IDEAS
  3. Richard V. Burkhauser & Shuaizhang Feng & Jeff Larrimore, 2008. "Measuring Labor Earnings Inequality using Public-Use March Current Population Survey Data: The Value of Including Variances and Cell Means When Imputing Topcoded Values," NBER Working Papers 14458, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Anna Fräßdorf & Markus M. Grabka & Johannes Schwarze, 2008. "The Impact of Household Capital Income on Income Inequality: A Factor Decomposition Analysis for Great Britain, Germany and the USA," SOEPpapers 104, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
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  5. Jeff Larrimore & Richard V. Burkhauser & Shuaizhang Feng & Laura Zayatz, 2008. "Consistent Cell Means for Topcoded Incomes in the Public Use March CPS (1976-2007)," NBER Working Papers 13941, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Richard V. Burkhauser & Takashi Oshio & Ludmila Rovba, 2007. "How the Distribution of After-Tax Income Changed over the 1990s Business Cycle: A Comparison of the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Japan," SOEPpapers 35, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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