Doctoral Dissertation Research, Income Inequality in the United States: Determinants, Trends, and Paths

摘要自20世纪70年代末以来，美国各州的收入不平等现象有所加剧。为了更深入地理解这一现象，研究人员评估了各种经济、社会和政治因素对美国州一级收入不平等加剧的相对贡献。其次，本研究考察了收入不平等加剧的全国趋势是全国范围内变化的结果，还是不同的州采取了独特的因果路径导致收入不平等加剧。研究人员利用美国人口普查局当前人口调查（CPS）的数据，得出了1970年至2000年间各州收入和家庭收入不平等的各种年度指标。为了探索收入不平等加剧的趋势和原因，这些措施受到各种统计分析、空间计量经济学和定性比较分析（QCA）的影响。这项研究对社会学知识的主要贡献在于它有可能扩大我们对收入不平等加剧的原因的理解。本研究的一个主要目标是通过综合来自不同知识视角的各种解释，为理解最近收入不平等的加剧提供一个更连贯的框架。此外，研究人员希望做到这一点，同时解决一些理论和方法上的缺陷，以前的研究在这个问题上。深入了解收入不平等加剧的根源可能会产生更广泛的影响，因为已经证明收入不平等会影响经济增长率、健康、犯罪和政治冲突。本分析中产生的不平等措施将在网上公开，为进一步研究收入不平等加剧的原因和影响提供机会。理想情况下，这项研究可以为关注近期收入不平等加剧及其后果的政策制定者和倡导团体提供指导。明确了解导致不平等加剧的因素，并认识到相关因素在所有地区或随着时间的推移可能并不相同，这是关键的第一步，以便就可能采取的不同类型的政策进行知情讨论，以降低不平等程度和社会问题，如贫困，这是高度不平等的代名词。

SES # 0622874PI: Lane Kenworthy Co-PI: Keith BenteleUniversity of ArizonaAbstract Since the late 1970s, income inequality has increased throughout the American states. In order to get a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, the researcher assesses the relative contributions of a variety of economic, social, and political factors to the rise in state-level income inequality in the United States. Second, this research examines whether the national trend of rising inequality is a result of nationwide changes or if different states have taken unique causal paths to higher levels of income inequality. The researcher is using U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS) data to generate a variety of annual state-level measures of both earnings and household income inequality between 1970 and 2000. In order to explore trends within, and the causes of, rising income inequality these measures are subjected to a variety of statistical analyses, spatial econometrics, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The primary contribution to sociological knowledge within this research lies in its potential to expand our understanding of the causes of rising income inequality. A major goal of this research is to contribute to the development of a more coherent framework for understanding the recent upswing in income inequality by synthesizing a variety of explanations stemming from different intellectual perspectives. Additionally, the researcher hopes to do this while addressing a number of theoretical and methodological shortcomings of previous research on this issue. Obtaining a deeper understanding of the origins of rising income inequality may have broader impacts as it has been demonstrated that income inequality influences rates of economic growth, health, crime, and political conflict. The inequality measures generated in this analysis will be made publicly available online, providing the opportunity for further work on the causes and implications of rising income inequality. Ideally, this research could provide guidance for policy-makers and advocacy groups concerned with the recent rise in income inequality and its consequences. A clear understanding of the factors driving rising inequality, and the insight that relevant factors may not be identical in all regions or over time, is a critical first step to engaging in an informed discussion of the different types of policies that might be pursued in order to lower levels of inequality and the social problems, such as poverty, that are synonymous with high levels of inequality.