IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/lis/liswps/686.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Anatomy of Income Inequality in the United States: 1979-2013

Author

Listed:
  • Aboozar Hadavand

Abstract

This paper provides a novel analysis of the trend in income inequality in the United States between 1979{2013. There are two ways in which this paper contributes to the literature. First, I analyze how much of the existing inequality in the U.S. is due to the demographic changes that happened over this period. Using microdata from Luxembourg Income Study and after decomposing inequality into within- and between-age group components, I find that the within-group share of overall inequality in the U.S. is high and steady compared to other developed countries. I also find that about 17 percent of the rise in inequality in this period is due to the between-group component (life-cycle effects). Second, I provide a regression analysis to explain cross-group variations in inequality during the period. I estimate that most of the rise in inequality has happened among middle-aged men while inequality among women, especially among married women has, in fact, decreased. This more granular analysis of inequality can help us investigate the causes of inequality, which would be impossible if we only look at a single inequality statistic.

Suggested Citation

  • Aboozar Hadavand, 2017. "Anatomy of Income Inequality in the United States: 1979-2013," LIS Working papers 686, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:686
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.lisdatacenter.org/wps/liswps/686.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Timothy Smeeding & Gunther Schmaus & Brigitte Buhmann & Lee Rainwater, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well-Being, Inequality and Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates Across Ten Countries Using the LIS Database," LIS Working papers 17, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    2. Jeremy Greenwood & Nezih Guner & Georgi Kocharkov & Cezar Santos, 2016. "Technology and the Changing Family: A Unified Model of Marriage, Divorce, Educational Attainment, and Married Female Labor-Force Participation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 1-41, January.
    3. Maarten Goos & Alan Manning, 2007. "Lousy and Lovely Jobs: The Rising Polarization of Work in Britain," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(1), pages 118-133, February.
    4. Jenkins, Stephen P., 1995. "Did the middle class shrink during the 1980s? UK evidence from kernel density estimates," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 407-413, October.
    5. Matthew Higgins & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 1999. "Explaining Inequality the World Round: Cohort Size, Kuznets Curves, andOpenness," NBER Working Papers 7224, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Paglin, Morton, 1975. "The Measurement and Trend of Inequality: A Basic Revision," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(4), pages 598-609, September.
    7. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    8. Bruce A. Weinberg, 2000. "Computer Use and the Demand for Female Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 53(2), pages 290-308, January.
    9. Peter Gottschalk & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1997. "Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 633-687, June.
    10. Paglin, Morton, 1977. "The Measurement and Trend of Inequality: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(3), pages 520-531, June.
    11. Deaton, Angus & Paxson, Christina, 1994. "Intertemporal Choice and Inequality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(3), pages 437-467, June.
    12. Pyatt, Graham, 1976. "On the Interpretation and Disaggregation of Gini Coefficients," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 86(342), pages 243-255, June.
    13. Johnson, William R & Skinner, Jonathan, 1986. "Labor Supply and Marital Separation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 455-469, June.
    14. Nelson, Eric R, 1977. "The Measurement and Trend of Inequality: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(3), pages 497-501, June.
    15. Jonathan Heathcote & Kjetil Storesletten & Giovanni L. Violante, 2005. "Two Views of Inequality Over the Life Cycle," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(2-3), pages 765-775, 04/05.
    16. Eden, Benjamin, 1980. "Stochastic Dominance in Human Capital," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(1), pages 135-145, February.
    17. Steven Prus, 2000. "Income Inequality as a Canadian Cohort Ages: An Analysis of the Later Life Course," LIS Working papers 237, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    18. 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 410-442, June.
    19. Lars Osberg, 2003. "Long Run Trends in Income Inequality in the United States, UK, Sweden, Germany and Canada: A Birth Cohort View," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 121-141, Winter.
    20. Formby, John P & Seaks, Terry G & Smith, W James, 1989. "On the Measurement and Trend of Inequality: A Reconsideration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 256-264, March.
    21. Brigitte Buhmann & Lee Rainwater & Guenther Schmaus & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well‐Being, Inequality, And Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates Across Ten Countries Using The Luxembourg Income Study (Lis) Database," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(2), pages 115-142, June.
    22. David Autor, 2014. "Polanyi's Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth," NBER Working Papers 20485, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Buhmann, Brigitte, et al, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well-Being, Inequality, and Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates across Ten Countries Using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(2), pages 115-142, June.
    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. Aboozar Hadavand, 2017. "Misperceptions and mismeasurements: An analysis of subjective economic inequality," Working Papers 449, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

    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. Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni & Walter Sosa Escudero, 2000. "Characterization of inequality changes through microeconometric decompositions. The case of Greater Buenos Aires," IIE, Working Papers 025, IIE, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    2. Bandyopadhyay, Sanghamitra & Cowell, Frank, 2007. "Modelling vulnerability in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 2692, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Christopher Wimer & Zachary Parolin & Anny Fenton & Liana Fox & Christopher Jencks, 2020. "The Direct Effect of Taxes and Transfers on Changes in the U.S. Income Distribution, 1967–2015," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1833-1851, October.
    4. Jonathan Fisher & David S. Johnson & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2015. "Inequality of Income and Consumption in the U.S.: Measuring the Trends in Inequality from 1984 to 2011 for the Same Individuals," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(4), pages 630-650, December.
    5. Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernandez Sierra, Manuel, 2018. "The distribution of the gender wage gap," ISER Working Paper Series 2018-10, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    6. Stefan Thewissen & Lane Kenworthy & Brian Nolan & Max Roser & Tim Smeeding, 2018. "Rising Income Inequality and Living Standards in OECD Countries: How Does the Middle Fare?," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 26(2), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Vincent Mahler, 2002. "Exploring the Subnational Dimension of Income Inequality: An Analysis of the Relationship between Inequality and Electoral Turnout in the Developed Countries," LIS Working papers 292, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    8. Ferreira, Francisco H. G. & Barros, Ricardo Paes de, 1999. "The Slippery Slope: Explaining The Increase In Extreme Poverty In Urban Brazil, 1976-1996," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 19(2), November.
    9. Ingvild Almås & Magne Mogstady, 2009. "Older or wealthier? The impact of age adjustments on the wealth inequality ranking of countries," Working Papers 113, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    10. Carlo Vittorio FIORIO, 2008. "Understanding Italian inequality trends: a simulation-based decomposition," Departmental Working Papers 2008-26, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    11. World Bank, 2003. "Brazil : Inequality and Economic Development, Volume 1. Policy Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 14653, The World Bank Group.
    12. Lima, Pedro G. & Teixeira, Pedro N. & Silva, Sandra T., 2021. "Major Streams in the Economics of Inequality: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the Literature since 1950s," IZA Discussion Papers 14777, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Thomas Otter, 2009. "Characterization of inequality changes through microeconometric decomposition - Paraguay 1992-2005," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 189, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Timothy M. Smeeding, 2002. "Globalization, Inequality, and the Rich Countries of the G-20: Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 48, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    15. François Bourguignon & Francisco Ferreira & Phillippe Leite, 2008. "Beyond Oaxaca–Blinder: Accounting for differences in household income distributions," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 6(2), pages 117-148, June.
    16. Frick Joachim R. & Grabka Markus M., 2001. "Der Einfluß von Imputed Rent auf die personelle Einkommensverteilung. The Impact of Imputed Rent on the Personal Distribution of Income," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 221(3), pages 285-308, June.
    17. Andrzej Grodner & Timothy Smeeding, 2000. "Changing Income Inequality in OECD Countries: Updated Results from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)," LIS Working papers 252, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    18. Barros, Ricardo Paes de & Ferreira, Francisco, 2000. "Education and income distribution in urban Brazil, 1976-1996," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    19. Chatterjee, Srikanta & Dalziel, Paul & Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Podder, Nripesh, 2008. "Income Inequality and Transformation of the Welfare State: A Comparative Study of the Reforms in New Zealand and Sweden," HUI Working Papers 20, HUI Research.
    20. Ricardo Bebczuk & Leonardo Gasparini, 2001. "Globalisation and Inequality. The Case of Argentina," IIE, Working Papers 032, IIE, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality Decomposition; Within-Group Inequality; Income Distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:lis:liswps:686. 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: Piotr Paradowski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lisprlu.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.