Consumption and Income Inequality in the U.S. Since the 1960s
Consumption and Income Inequality in the U.S. Since the 1960s
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20 世纪 60 年代以来美国的消费和收入不平等
DOI：
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发表时间：
2017
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
James X. Sullivan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bruce D. Meyer;James X. Sullivan
官方收入不平等统计数据表明，过去50年来，不平等现象急剧加剧。这些统计数据并不能准确反映不平等，因为收入的衡量很差，特别是在分配的尾部，而且当前收入不同于永久收入，未能反映通过借贷和储蓄支付的消费以及房屋和汽车等耐用品的消费。我们使用当前人口调查研究了1963年至2014年的收入不平等，并使用消费者支出调查研究了1960年至2014年的消费不平等。我们构建了更好的消费指标，重点关注其计量良好的组成部分，这些组成部分相对于国民账户以高而稳定的速度报告。虽然在过去50年中，总体收入不平等（以90/10比率衡量）有所上升，但总体消费不平等的上升幅度很小。这两项指标的模式在十年内有所不同，2006年后它们朝着相反的方向发展。收入不平等在分配的上半部分和下半部分都有所增加，但消费不平等的增加只在上半部分明显。这种差异也集中在单亲家庭和单身人士身上。虽然人口结构的变化可以解释消费不平等的一些变化，但它们对收入不平等的变化几乎没有影响。消费平滑不能解释最底层的收入和消费之间的差异，但收入数据质量的下降可以解释。资产价格的变化可能解释了近年来分布上半部分指标之间的一些差异。
Official income inequality statistics indicate a sharp rise in inequality over the past five decades. These statistics do not accurately reflect inequality because income is poorly measured, particularly in the tails of the distribution, and current income differs from permanent income, failing to capture the consumption paid for through borrowing and dissaving and the consumption of durables such as houses and cars. We examine income inequality between 1963 and 2014 using the Current Population Survey and consumption inequality between 1960 and 2014 using the Consumer Expenditure Survey. We construct improved measures of consumption, focusing on its well-measured components that are reported at a high and stable rate relative to national accounts. While overall income inequality (as measured by the 90/10 ratio) rose over the past five decades, the rise in overall consumption inequality was small. The patterns for the two measures differ by decade, and they moved in opposite directions after 2006. Income inequality rose in both the top and bottom halves of the distribution, but increases in consumption inequality are only evident in the top half. The differences are also concentrated in single parent families and single individuals. Although changing demographics can account for some of the changes in consumption inequality, they account for little of the changes in income inequality. Consumption smoothing cannot explain the differences between income and consumption at the very bottom, but the declining quality of income data can. Asset price changes likely account for some of the differences between the measures in recent years for the top half of the distribution.