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More Unequal We Stand? Inequality Dynamics in the United States 1967–2021

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Heathcote
  • Fabrizio Perri
  • Giovanni L. Violante
  • Lichen Zhang

Abstract

Heathcote et al. (2010) conducted an empirical analysis of several dimensions of inequality in the United States over the years 1967-2006, using publicly-available survey data. This paper expands the analysis, and extends it to 2021. We find that since the early 2000s, the college wage premium has stopped growing, and the race wage gap has stalled. However, the gender wage gap has kept shrinking. Both individual- and household-level income inequality have continued to rise at the top, while the cyclical component of inequality dominates dynamics below the median. Inequality in consumption expenditures has remained remarkably stable over time. Income pooling within the family and redistribution by the government have enormous impacts on the dynamics of household-level inequality, with the role of the family diminishing and that of the government growing over time. In particular, largely due to generous government transfers, the COVID recession has been the first downturn in fifty years in which inequality in disposable income and consumption actually declined.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Heathcote & Fabrizio Perri & Giovanni L. Violante & Lichen Zhang, 2023. "More Unequal We Stand? Inequality Dynamics in the United States 1967–2021," NBER Working Papers 31486, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31486
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    Cited by:

    1. Jalles, João Tovar & Karras, Georgios, 2024. "Tax progressivity and income inequality in the US," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    2. Axelle Ferriere & Philipp Grübener & Dominik Sachs, 2024. "Optimal Redistribution: Rising Inequality vs. Rising Living Standards," CESifo Working Paper Series 11141, CESifo.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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