scholarly journals WEALTH INEQUALITY: DATA AND MODELS

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (S2) ◽  
pp. 285-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Cagetti ◽  
Mariacristina De Nardi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Wealth Distribution ◽  
Economic Models ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Total Wealth

In the United States wealth is highly concentrated and very unequally distributed: the richest 1% hold one third of the total wealth in the economy. Understanding the determinants of wealth inequality is a challenge for many economic models. We summarize some key facts about the wealth distribution and what economic models have been able to explain so far.

Evidence on Income Inequality in the United States, 1866–1965

1969 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee C. Soltow
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Wealth Distribution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Personal Income ◽  
Income Groups

It is commonly thought that income distribution among people became more concentrated after the Civil War and that this direction continued until the turn of the century. We can look methodically at the income tax distributions from the Civil War period and compare them directly with the distributions arising from the income tax after 1912. We also have some data from the abortive income tax of 1894. After examining the various blocks of evidence, the conclusion will be made that inequality among upper-income groups did not increase during this period. It is necessary to emphasize that the present investigation is one of income and not of wealth. It might have been possible for the nonhuman wealth distribution among people to remain constant or to increase in inequality while the personal income distribution was decreasing in inequality.

scholarly journals Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data *

2016 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Saez ◽  
Gabriel Zucman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Wealth Concentration ◽  
Top Incomes ◽  
Tax Returns

Abstract This paper combines income tax returns with macroeconomic household balance sheets to estimate the distribution of wealth in the United States since 1913. We estimate wealth by capitalizing the incomes reported by individual taxpayers, accounting for assets that do not generate taxable income. We successfully test our capitalization method in three micro datasets where we can observe both income and wealth: the Survey of Consumer Finance, linked estate and income tax returns, and foundations’ tax records. We find that wealth concentration was high in the beginning of the twentieth century, fell from 1929 to 1978, and has continuously increased since then. The top 0.1% wealth share has risen from 7% in 1978 to 22% in 2012, a level almost as high as in 1929. Top wealth-holders are younger today than in the 1960s and earn a higher fraction of the economy’s labor income. The bottom 90% wealth share first increased up to the mid-1980s and then steadily declined. The increase in wealth inequality in recent decades is due to the upsurge of top incomes combined with an increase in saving rate inequality. We explain how our findings can be reconciled with Survey of Consumer Finances and estate tax data.

Combatining Income and Wealth Inequality, Racial Discrimination, and Social Exclusion in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-215
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shared Value ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Policy Measures

Inequality has increased significantly in the United States during the last three decades. Growing inequality has become a shared value among political actors. Inequality has become problematic and a threat to values of citizens and even the conservatives in U.S. The chapter, therefore, examines the trends in income inequality between 1920s and 2010 and the trends in income inequality between 1979 and 2017. It also focuses on wealth inequality, realities of income inequality at sub-national levels, and income equality along racial and ethnic lines with a specific focus in the years 2007-2016. Also, inequality and social inclusion and social policy measures are discussed.

Combating Income and Wealth Inequality, Racial Discrimination, and Social Exclusion in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 118-144
Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shared Value ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Policy Measures

Inequality has increased significantly in the United States during the last three decades. Growing inequality has become a shared value among political actors. Inequality has become problematic and a threat to values of citizens and even the conservatives in U.S. The chapter, therefore, examines the trends in income inequality between 1920s and 2010 and the trends in income inequality between 1979 and 2017. It also focuses on wealth inequality, realities of income inequality at sub-national levels, and income equality along racial and ethnic lines with a specific focus in the years 2007-2016. Also, inequality and social inclusion and social policy measures are discussed.

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