What can genetic information teach us about the intergenerational transmission of economic inequality? A new IZA Discussion Paper by Nicholas W. Papageorge (Johns Hopkins University & IZA) and Kevin Thom (New York University) uses molecular genetic data to better understand the economic returns to ability endowments over the life-cycle, and how they are influenced by … Continue reading
Canadians have become accustomed to tales of woe about the plight of young adults: rising tuition fees and crippling student debts; university graduates without jobs or unable to find anything more challenging than serving coffee; even those with good jobs and incomes stuck in their parents’ basements because of the high cost of housing. These … Continue reading
While the gap between the wealthy and everyone else is widening in much of the industrialized world, a large chunk of Danes remain firmly middle class. Forty-two percent of the working population of 4.6 million have annual disposable incomes between 200,000 and 400,000 kroner $36,700-$73,300. Just 2.6 percent earn more than 500,000 kroner a year … Continue reading
Despite overwhelming evidence that the racial wealth gap persists in the U.S., it remains a taboo topic in mainstream policy circles and most officials studiously avoid offering targeted solutions to help close this gap. However, this issue is ignored at our nation’s peril given the anticipated growth of racial and ethnic groups over the next … Continue reading
This chapter looks at total net wealth of private households in Great Britain. The definition of wealth used in this survey is an economic one: total wealth (gross) is the value of accumulated assets, and total wealth (net) is the value of accumulated assets minus the value of accumulated liabilities. Total net wealth is defined … Continue reading
The weight of the federal income tax has varied widely since it was introduced a century ago. It has generally played a progressive role in mitigating income inequality. But it is not powerful enough to overcome the widening gap of recent decades. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The Politics of Income … Continue reading
Most developing countries have made a great effort to eradicate illiteracy. As a result, the inequality in the distribution of education has been reduced by more than half from 1950 to 2010. However, inequality in the distribution of income has hardly changed. This column presents evidence from a new dataset on human capital inequality. The … Continue reading
Income inequality has increased sharply since the 1980s yet surveys show modest increase in wealth concentration One possible explanation: rising inequality is a pure labor income phenomenon – Rise in top incomes due to top wage earners/entrepreneurs only – The working rich may not have had enough time to accumulate – Or they may have … Continue reading
Income inequality has increased in both advanced and developing economies in recent decades. Increasing inequality has been attributed to a range of factors, including the globalization and liberalization of factor and product markets; skill-biased technological change; increases in labor force participation by low-skilled workers; declining top marginal income tax rates; increasing bargaining power of high … Continue reading
Recent economic news has been encouraging. Gross domestic product (GDP) has grown for 10 straight quarters (growing by 4.1 percent at an annual rate in the third quarter of 2013), the economy has added private-sector jobs for 46 consecutive months and the housing market continues to strengthen. Despite the current economic recovery, the income inequality … Continue reading
A new Fox New poll shows a possible disconnect between President Barack Obama and voters on what the president says will be the top priority for the rest of his term: reducing income inequality. Continue reading
An urgent need to address long-simmering economic problems such as widening income gaps and structural unemployment, coupled with growing concerns over the quality of economic policies and tension in the Middle East and North Africa, rank among the Top 10 trends for world leaders in 2014, according to the World Economic Forum’s Outlook on the Global Agenda, which is published today Continue reading
The low-skilled are more likely than others to be unemployed, have bad health and earn much less, according to the first OECD Survey of Adult Skills. Countries with greater inequality in skills proficiency also have higher income inequality. The OECD Survey of Adult Skills is the new PISA for adults (otherwise known as PIAAC). The Survey … Continue reading
But recent falls in global inequality are predominantly attributable to rising prosperity in China a study finds Continue reading
We’re not talking about the rise of a broad class of highly educated workers, we’re talking about a tiny elite Continue reading