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Income Inequality in the 1990s: Comparing the United States, Great Britain and Germany

Author

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  • Richard V. Burkhauser
  • Ludmila Rovba

Abstract

Using data from the March Current Population Surveys in the United States, the Household Panel Survey in Great Britain and the Socio-Economic Panel in Germany we find gains from economic growth in the United States over their 1990s business cycle (1989-2000) were more equitably distributed than were the gains over their 1980s business cycle (1979-1989). Furthermore, they were more equitably distributed than were the gains in Germany over their 1990s business cycle (1991-2001). However, gains from economic growth in Great Britain over their 1990s business cycle (1990-2000) were the most equitably distributed. Our results hold using both summary measures of inequality as well as kernel density estimations. In the United States and Great Britain the entire income distribution moved upward in the 1990s. In Germany, as was the case in the United States over their 1980s business cycle, there was a drop in the middle of the income distribution and increases in both tails. In the United States, younger persons (aged 64 and younger) fared better than older persons (aged 65 and older) while the opposite was the case in Great Britain and Germany. Income inequality fell in all three countries among the older population. But it rose in Germany, remained about the same in the United States and fell in Great Britain among their younger populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard V. Burkhauser & Ludmila Rovba, 2006. "Income Inequality in the 1990s: Comparing the United States, Great Britain and Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 576, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp576
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    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.44198.de/dp576.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jacobs, Didier, 2000. "Low inequality with low redistribution? An analysis of income distribution in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan compared to Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6476, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard V. Burkhauser & Shuaizhang Feng & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2009. "Using The P90/P10 Index To Measure U.S. Inequality Trends With Current Population Survey Data: A View From Inside The Census Bureau Vaults," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(1), pages 166-185, March.
    2. Kun Ge & Shan Zou & Danling Chen & Xinhai Lu & Shangan Ke, 2021. "Research on the Spatial Differences and Convergence Mechanism of Urban Land Use Efficiency under the Background of Regional Integration: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Zone, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Liguo Zhang & Luchen Huang & Jinglin Xia & Kaifeng Duan, 2022. "Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Its Influencing Factors on Urban Land Use Efficiency in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Richard V. Burkhauser & Takashi Oshio & Ludmila Rovba, 2008. "How the Distribution of After-Tax Income Changed Over the 1990s Business Cycle: A Comparison of the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Japan," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 17(1), pages 87-109, March.
    5. Xinhai Lu & Bing Kuang & Jing Li & Jing Han & Zuo Zhang, 2018. "Dynamic Evolution of Regional Discrepancies in Carbon Emissions from Agricultural Land Utilization: Evidence from Chinese Provincial Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Stephan Kampelmann & François Rycx, 2013. "The Dynamics Of Task-Biased Technological Change :The Case Of Occupations," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 56(2), pages 113-142.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income inequality; kernel density estimations; economic well-being; cross-country comparisons;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution

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