Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased?
Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased?
复制标题
美国收入不平等真的加剧了吗？
DOI：
10.2139/ssrn.975670
复制
发表时间：
2007
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Alan Reynolds
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alan Reynolds
近年来，学术界和舆论人士都声称美国“收入不平等”正在加剧。这些评论员通常引用联邦所得税申报表数据来支持他们的主张。然而，由于近几十年来税收规则和税务报告发生了巨大变化，基于纳税申报表数据的研究对美国收入分配变化进行了高度误导性的比较。本研究试图纠正利用税收数据确定收入分配特征的扭曲。报告发现，除了 20 世纪 90 年代末股市繁荣期间的股票期权意外之财外，几乎没有证据表明过去 20 年美国收入、工资、消费或财富的不平等显着或持续增加。
In recent years, both academics and public commentators have alleged that "income inequality" is increasing in the United States. These commentators typically cite federal income tax return data to support their claims. However, studies based on tax return data provide highly misleading comparisons of changes to the U.S. income distribution because of dramatic changes in tax rules and tax reporting in recent decades. This study attempts to correct for the distortions of using tax data to determine income distribution characteristics. It finds that, aside from stock option windfalls during the late-1990s stock-market boom, there is little evidence of a significant or sustained increase in the inequality of U.S. incomes, wages, consumption, or wealth over the past 20 years.