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Inequality and Institutions in 20th Century America

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Author Info
Frank Levy
Peter Temin

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Abstract

We provide a comprehensive view of widening income inequality in the United States contrasting conditions since 1980 with those in earlier postwar years. We argue that the income distribution in each period was strongly shaped by a set of economic institutions. The early postwar years were dominated by unions, a negotiating framework set in the Treaty of Detroit, progressive taxes, and a high minimum wage -- all parts of a general government effort to broadly distribute the gains from growth. More recent years have been characterized by reversals in all these dimensions in an institutional pattern known as the Washington Consensus. Other explanations for income disparities including skill-biased technical change and international trade are seen as factors operating within this broader institutional story.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 13106.

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Date of creation: May 2007
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13106

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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References listed on IDEAS
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    Other versions:
  3. Richard B. Freeman, 1998. "Spurts in Union Growth: Defining Moments and Social Processes," NBER Chapters, in: The Defining Moment: The Great Depression and the American Economy in the Twentieth Century, pages 265-296 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Ian Dew-Becker & Robert J. Gordon, 2005. "Where Did the Productivity Growth Go? Inflation Dynamics and the Distribution of Income," NBER Working Papers 11842, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Gary Solon, 2002. "Cross-Country Differences in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 59-66, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  17. Ian Dew-Becker & Robert J. Gordon, 2005. "Where Did Productivity Growth Go? Inflation Dynamics and the Distribution of Income," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 36(2005-2), pages 67-150. [Downloadable!]
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    Other versions:
Full references

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. Carola Frydman & Raven S. Molloy, 2009. "Does tax policy affect executive compensation? evidence from postwar tax reforms," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2009-30, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  2. Carola Frydman, 2008. "Learning from the Past: Trends in Executive Compensation over the Twentieth Century," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  3. Dew-Becker, Ian & Gordon, Robert J, 2008. "Controversies about the Rise in American Inequality: A Survey," CEPR Discussion Papers 6817, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Wojciech Kopczuk & Emmanuel Saez & Jae Song, 2007. "Uncovering the American Dream: Inequality and Mobility in Social Security Earnings Data since 1937," NBER Working Papers 13345, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Steven N. Kaplan & Joshua Rauh, 2007. "Wall Street and Main Street: What Contributes to the Rise in the Highest Incomes?," NBER Working Papers 13270, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Joshua L. Rosenbloom & William A. Sundstrom, 2009. "Labor-Market Regimes in U.S. Economic History," NBER Working Papers 15055, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. David R. Howell and Mamadou Diallo, 2007. "Charting U.S. Economic Performance with Alternative Labor Market Indicators: The Importance of Accounting for Job Quality," SCEPA Working Papers 2007-6, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School. [Downloadable!]
  8. Frederick Guy & Peter Skott, 2007. "Information and communications technologies,coordination and control, and the distribution of income," Working Papers 2007-11, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Thomas I. Palley, 2008. "Financialization: What it is and Why it Matters," IMK Working Paper 04-2008, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute. [Downloadable!]
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