Following up on yesterday's post about the Global Top Incomes Database, I thought I'd give an example. Here's what I created: So what are we looking at? The blue line shows almost a century of the average income of the bottom 90% of American earners (in constant, real 2008 dollars - scale on right side). … Continue reading The Top 0.1% Vs. Rest of Us Throughout the 20th Century
Income inequality
Income Inequality Does Matter And It Makes Us Worse Off
There is viewpoint that asserts that income inequality and wealth inequality are necessary, that they are the differences that motivate people to work and get ahead. This viewpoint often implies that without wide income disparities that our economy's growth would slow. Supporters of such a viewpoint seem to suggest that the only choices we have … Continue reading Income Inequality Does Matter And It Makes Us Worse Off
CEO’s Pay Grows, Average Worker Pay Stagnates
The top end of the income distribution has recovered from any ill effects of the Great Recession, but the average worker has not. CEO's in particular saw their compensation increase 27% in 2010, while the workers at the corporations these CEO's "lead" has barely moved. Wonkroom notes: Households across the country are still feeling the … Continue reading CEO’s Pay Grows, Average Worker Pay Stagnates
Income Inequality Widening for Both Men and Women
Income distribution changes, namely, the rich getting richer and the bottom half struggling to stay even is true for both men and women. It is only partly explained by educational level. Mark Thoma extracts from a CBO report about how workers' hourly compensation (wages) have changed from 1979 to 2009: Changes in the Distribution of … Continue reading Income Inequality Widening for Both Men and Women
Empty Threats
One argument often provided for against raising the state taxes on rich individuals and large corporations is the belief that higher taxes will simply cause them to move to low-tax states. Now there's data on how serious the threat to move is: not very. Yves Smith at naked capitalism writes of a study by Young … Continue reading Empty Threats
Income Inequality and Financial Crisis
The Great Recession of 2007-9, like the Great Depression in 1929-33, was triggered by a massive financial crisis: stock market crash, falling asset prices, bank failures, and liquidity crisis. One of the key triggers of instability in banking and the resulting financial crises is what economists call "over-leverage", meaning too much (private) credit and too … Continue reading Income Inequality and Financial Crisis
Income Inequality: Worse in US than Egypt/Tunisia
Washington's blog observes: Egyptian, Tunisian and Yemeni protesters all say that inequality is one of the main reasons they're protesting.However, the U.S. actually has much greater inequality than in any of those countries. Specifically, the "Gini Coefficient" - the figure economists use to measure inequality - is higher in the U.S. [Click for larger image] … Continue reading Income Inequality: Worse in US than Egypt/Tunisia
Tunisia, Egypt and “isms”
Note to regular readers: You may notice an increasing number of posts that deal with pure political economy or international issues. In the past my posts have been dominated by macro-economic concerns and that's largely because my teaching schedule was heavily macro. I'm teaching a new class this term that is essentially Political Economy 101, … Continue reading Tunisia, Egypt and “isms”
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