Levels and trends in US income and its distribution: a crosswalk from market income towards a comprehensive Haig‐Simons income approach

P Armour, RV Burkhauser… - Southern Economic …, 2014 - Wiley Online Library
Southern Economic Journal, 2014Wiley Online Library
Recent research on US levels and trends in income inequality varies substantially based on
how these studies measure income. We crosswalk (move between standards) from a market
income of tax units to a more comprehensive measure of income including realized capital
gains of households using a unified data set and replicate common findings in the literature.
By using a comprehensive income definition in the spirit of Haig‐Simons, considering yearly
accrued capital gains rather than focusing on the delayed reporting of capital gains that …
Recent research on U.S. levels and trends in income inequality varies substantially based on how these studies measure income. We crosswalk (move between standards) from a market income of tax units to a more comprehensive measure of income including realized capital gains of households using a unified data set and replicate common findings in the literature. By using a comprehensive income definition in the spirit of Haig‐Simons, considering yearly accrued capital gains rather than focusing on the delayed reporting of capital gains that appear in Internal Revenue Service tax return data, the observed growth in income inequality and top income shares since 1989 is dramatically reduced.
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