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What lies behind France's low level of income inequality?

Author

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  • Antoine Bozio

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales)

  • Malka Guillot

    (ULiège - Université de Liège = University of Liège = Universiteit van Luik = Universität Lüttich)

  • Lukas Puschnig

    (IPP - Institut des politiques publiques)

  • Maxime Tô

    (IPP - Institut des politiques publiques)

Abstract

We document the evolution of working‐age individual pre‐tax and disposable income inequality in France since the late 1960s using household surveys. Disposable income inequality declined over the 1960s and 1970s and remained stable thereafter. This trend can be explained, in part, by changes in the tax and benefit system, notably through changes in employer contributions, and the evolution of the national minimum wage. Other dimensions than income bring a less positive perspective: low‐income individuals are now more likely to be immigrants, have low education, and live in households with no working adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Antoine Bozio & Malka Guillot & Lukas Puschnig & Maxime Tô, 2024. "What lies behind France's low level of income inequality?," Institut des Politiques Publiques halshs-05144264, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:ipppap:halshs-05144264
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-5890.12390
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-05144264v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lawrence F. Katz & Kevin M. Murphy, 1992. "Changes in Relative Wages, 1963–1987: Supply and Demand Factors," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(1), pages 35-78.
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    3. Bozio, Antoine & Breda, Thomas & Guillot, Malka, 2023. "Using payroll taxes as a redistribution tool," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    4. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Melissa S. Kearney, 2008. "Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Revising the Revisionists," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(2), pages 300-323, May.
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    6. Antoine Bozio, 2024. "The unusual French policy mix towards labour market inequalities," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 43-54, March.
    7. Dominique Meurs & Pierre Porra, 2019. "Gender Equality on the Labour Market in France: A Slow Convergence Hampered by Motherhood," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 510-511-5, pages 109-130.
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    9. Verdugo, Gregory, 2014. "The great compression of the French wage structure, 1969–2008," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 131-144.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bertrand Garbinti & Cecilia Garcia-Peñalosa & Vladimir Pecheu & Frédérique Savignac, 2025. "Explaining the Dynamics of the Gender Gap in Lifetime Earnings," Working papers 994, Banque de France.

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