Working Paper: NBER ID: w23119
Authors: Facundo Alvaredo; Lucas Chancel; Thomas Piketty; Emmanuel Saez; Gabriel Zucman
Abstract: This paper presents new findings on global inequality dynamics from the World Wealth and Income Database (WID.world), with particular emphasis on the contrast between the trends observed in the United States, China, France, and the United Kingdom. We observe rising top income and wealth shares in nearly all countries in recent decades. But the magnitude of the increase varies substantially, thereby suggesting that different country-specific policies and institutions matter considerably. Long-run wealth inequality dynamics appear to be highly unstable. We stress the need for more democratic transparency on income and wealth dynamics and better access to administrative and financial data.
Keywords: global inequality; income distribution; wealth distribution; WID.world
JEL Codes: E01; H2; H5; J3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| country-specific policies (F68) | trends in income and wealth inequality (D31) |
| rising top income and wealth shares (D33) | trends in inequality (D31) |
| different institutional frameworks (P39) | different outcomes in inequality dynamics (D31) |
| policy discussions should focus on equalizing the distribution of primary assets (D30) | reforms in education, labor market institutions, and taxation policy (E69) |
| high saving rates and transfer of public wealth to private wealth (D14) | structural rise of private wealth-income ratios (D31) |
| structural rise of private wealth-income ratios (D31) | income and wealth dynamics (D31) |