IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/aejapp/v14y2022i4p480-518.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why Is Europe More Equal than the United States?

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Blanchet
  • Lucas Chancel
  • Amory Gethin

Abstract

This article combines all available data to produce pretax and posttax income inequality series in 26 European countries from 1980 to 2017. Our estimates are consistent with macroeconomic growth and comparable with US distributional national accounts. Inequality grew in nearly all European countries, but much less than in the US. Contrary to a widespread view, we demonstrate that Europe's lower inequality levels cannot be explained by more equalizing tax and transfer systems. After accounting for indirect taxes and in-kind transfers, the US redistributes a greater share of national income to low-income groups than any European country. "Predistribution," not "redistribution," explains why Europe is less unequal than the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Blanchet & Lucas Chancel & Amory Gethin, 2022. "Why Is Europe More Equal than the United States?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 480-518, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:480-518
    DOI: 10.1257/app.20200703
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/app.20200703
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/E150641V1
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/app.20200703.appx
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/app.20200703.ds
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1257/app.20200703?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "Distributional National Accounts: Methods and Estimates for the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(2), pages 553-609.
    2. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2017. "Top incomes during wars, communism and capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101855, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Taleb, Nassim Nicholas & Douady, Raphael, 2015. "On the super-additivity and estimation biases of quantile contributions," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 429(C), pages 252-260.
    4. Kostas Chrissis & Franciscos Koutentakis, 2019. "From dictatorship to crisis: The evolution of top income shares in Greece," Working Papers hal-02876984, HAL.
    5. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Top Incomes during Wars, Communism and Capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-02797835, HAL.
    6. Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty, 2010. "Top Incomes : A Global Perspective," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00754875, HAL.
    7. Oancea, Bogdan & Andrei, Tudorel & Pirjol, Dan, 2017. "Income inequality in Romania: The exponential-Pareto distribution," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 469(C), pages 486-498.
    8. Christoph Lakner & Branko Milanovic, 2016. "Global Income Distribution: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 203-232.
    9. Thomas Blanchet & Ignacio Flores & Marc Morgan, 2022. "The weight of the rich: improving surveys using tax data," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 119-150, March.
    10. Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Camille Landais & Emmanuel Saez, 2013. "Taxation and International Migration of Superstars: Evidence from the European Football Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1892-1924, August.
    11. Dimitris Mavridis & Pálma Mosberger, 2017. "Income Inequality and Incentives. The Quasi-Natural Experiment of Hungary 1914-2008," Working Papers halshs-02797438, HAL.
    12. A. B. Atkinson & J. E. Søgaard, 2013. "The long-run history of income inequality in Denmark: Top incomes from 1870 to 2010," EPRU Working Paper Series 2013-01, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    13. Garbinti, Bertrand & Goupille-Lebret, Jonathan & Piketty, Thomas, 2018. "Income inequality in France, 1900–2014: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts (DINA)," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 63-77.
    14. Nataša Kump & Filip Novokmet, 2018. "Top incomes in Croatia and Slovenia, from 1960s until today," PSE Working Papers hal-02878175, HAL.
    15. Nataša Kump & Filip Novokmet, 2018. "Top incomes in Croatia and Slovenia, from 1960s until today," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02878175, HAL.
    16. Facundo Alvaredo & Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "Distributional National Accounts," Post-Print halshs-03342488, HAL.
    17. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Inequality in Poland: Estimating the whole distribution by g-percentile 1983-2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-02797780, HAL.
    18. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Top Incomes during Wars, Communism and Capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," Working Papers halshs-02797835, HAL.
    19. Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty, 2007. "Top incomes over the twentieth century: A contrast between continental european and english-speaking countries," Post-Print halshs-00754859, HAL.
    20. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Top Incomes during Wars, Communism and Capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," PSE Working Papers halshs-02797835, HAL.
    21. Rolf Aaberge & Anthony B. Atkinson, 2008. "Top Incomes in Norway," Discussion Papers 552, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    22. Nataša Kump & Filip Novokmet, 2018. "Top incomes in Croatia and Slovenia, from 1960s until today," Working Papers hal-02878175, HAL.
    23. Atkinson, A. B. & Piketty, Thomas (ed.), 2007. "Top Incomes Over the Twentieth Century: A Contrast Between Continental European and English-Speaking Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199286881.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rafael Carranza & Marc Morgan & Brian Nolan, 2023. "Top Income Adjustments and Inequality: An Investigation of the EU‐SILC," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(3), pages 725-754, September.
    2. Chancel, Lucas & Cogneau, Denis & Gethin, Amory & Myczkowski, Alix & Robilliard, Anne-Sophie, 2023. "Income inequality in Africa, 1990–2019: Measurement, patterns, determinants," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    3. Demetrio Guzzardi & Elisa Palagi & Tommaso Faccio & Andrea Roventini, 2023. "In search of lost time: An ensemble of policies to restore fiscal progressivity and address the climate challenge," LEM Papers Series 2023/28, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    4. Barriola, Illan & Deffains, Bruno & Musy, Olivier, 2023. "Law and inequality: A comparative approach to the distributive implications of legal systems," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Hopkin, Jonathan, 2022. "The politics of tax justice in democracies: redistribution beyond the median voter theorem," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122757, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Brzezinski, Michal, 2022. "Does income redistribution impede innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    7. Aroop Chatterjee & Léo Czajka & Amory Gethin, 2021. "Can Redistribution Keep Up with Inequality? Evidence from South Africa, 1993-2019," PSE Working Papers halshs-03364039, HAL.
    8. Mihail Arandarenko & Dušan Pavlović, 2023. "Egalitarianism And Redistributive Reform In Serbia After 2000," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 68(237), pages 7-36, April – J.
    9. Ilyana Kuziemko & Nicolas Longuet-Marx & Suresh Naidu, 2024. "“Compensate the Losers?†Economic Policy and Partisan Realignment in the US," Working Papers 321, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    10. Dorina Lazar & Cristian Marius Litan, 2024. "Inequality, Growth, and Structural Transformation: New Evidence from a Post-communist Economy," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 66(2), pages 236-260, June.
    11. Ines Heck & Anna Hornykewycz & Jakob Kapeller & Rafael Wildauer, 2024. "Vermögensverteilung in Österreich: eine Analyse auf Basis des HFCS 2021/22," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 255, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    12. Lukas Riedel & Holger Stichnoth, 2024. "Government consumption in the DINA framework: allocation methods and consequences for post-tax income inequality," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(3), pages 736-779, June.
    13. Martin Halla & Andrea Weber, 2024. "Persistent Low Inequality Despite Compositional Shifts in Austria," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp367, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    14. Calabuig, Vicente & Olcina, Gonzalo, 2023. "The elite, inequality and the emergence of progressive taxation," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Matteo Dalle Luche & Demetrio Guzzardi & Elisa Palagi & Andrea Roventini & Alessandro Santoro, 2024. "Tackling the regressivity of the Italian tax system: An optimal taxation framework with heterogeneous returns to capital," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-04753529, HAL.
    16. Stefan Ederer & Predrag Ćetković & Stefan Humer & Stefan Jestl & Emanuel List, 2022. "Distributional National Accounts (DINA) with Household Survey Data: Methodology and Results for European Countries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(3), pages 667-688, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thomas Blanchet & Lucas Chancel & Amory Gethin, 2019. "How Unequal is Europe? Evidence from Distributional National Accounts, 1980-2017," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02877000, HAL.
    2. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102834, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    4. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    5. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102814, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," CEP Discussion Papers dp1628, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Nora Lustig, 2019. "The “Missing Rich” in Household Surveys: Causes and Correction Approaches," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 75, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    8. Filip Novokmet, 2018. "The long-run evolution of inequality in the Czech Lands, 1898-2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02878212, HAL.
    9. Filip Novokmet, 2018. "The long-run evolution of inequality in the Czech Lands, 1898-2015," PSE Working Papers hal-02878212, HAL.
    10. Filip Novokmet, 2018. "The long-run evolution of inequality in the Czech Lands, 1898-2015," Working Papers hal-02878212, HAL.
    11. Diego Winkelried & Bruno Escobar, 2022. "Declining inequality in Latin America? Robustness checks for Peru," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 223-243, March.
    12. Filip Novokmet & Thomas Piketty & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "From Soviets to oligarchs: inequality and property in Russia 1905-2016," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(2), pages 189-223, June.
    13. Paweł Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 187-239, June.
    14. Nora Lustig, 2020. "The ``missing rich'' in household surveys: causes and correction approaches," Working Papers 520, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    15. Bartels, Charlotte & Waldenström, Daniel, 2021. "Inequality and top incomes," GLO Discussion Paper Series 959, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    16. Michał Brzeziński & Michał Myck & Mateusz Najsztub, 2019. "Reevaluating distributional consequences of the transition to market economy in Poland: new results from combined household survey and tax return data," Working Papers 2019-18, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    17. Thomas Blanchet & Juliette Fournier & Thomas Piketty, 2022. "Generalized Pareto Curves: Theory and Applications," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 263-288, March.
    18. Aaberge, Rolf & Atkinson, Anthony B. & Modalsli, Jørgen, 2020. "Estimating long-run income inequality from mixed tabular data: Empirical evidence from Norway, 1875–2017," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    19. Nishant Yonzan & Branko Milanovic & Salvatore Morelli & Janet Gornick, 2022. "Drawing a Line: Comparing the Estimation of Top Incomes between Tax Data and Household Survey Data," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 67-95, March.
    20. Rafael Carranza & Marc Morgan & Brian Nolan, 2023. "Top Income Adjustments and Inequality: An Investigation of the EU‐SILC," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(3), pages 725-754, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:480-518. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.