2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
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abstract: 'The top 1 percent income share has more than doubled in the United
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States over the last 30 years, drawing much public attention in recent
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years. While other English-speaking countries have also experienced
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sharp increases in the top 1 percent income share, many high-income
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countries such as Japan, France, or Germany have seen much less increase
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in top income shares. Hence, the explanation cannot rely solely on
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forces common to advanced countries, such as the impact of new
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technologies and globalization on the supply and demand for skills.
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Moreover, the explanations have to accommodate the falls in top income
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shares earlier in the twentieth century experienced in virtually all
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high-income countries. We highlight four main factors. The first is the
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impact of tax policy, which has varied over time and differs across
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countries. Top tax rates have moved in the opposite direction from top
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income shares. The effects of top rate cuts can operate in conjunction
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with other mechanisms. The second factor is a richer view of the labor
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market, where we contrast the standard supply-side model with one where
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pay is determined by bargaining and the reactions to top rate cuts may
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lead simply to a redistribution of surplus. Indeed, top rate cuts may
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lead managerial energies to be diverted to increasing their remuneration
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at the expense of enterprise growth and employment. The third factor is
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capital income. Overall, private wealth (relative to income) has
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followed a U-shaped path over time, particularly in Europe, where
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inherited wealth is, in Europe if not in the United States, making a
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return. The fourth, little investigated, element is the correlation
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between earned income and capital income, which has substantially
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increased in recent decades in the United States.'
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affiliation: 'Alvaredo, F (Corresponding Author), Univ Oxford Nuffield Coll, Oxford
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OX1 1NF, England.
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Alvaredo, Facundo; Atkinson, Anthony B., Univ Oxford Nuffield Coll, Oxford OX1 1NF,
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England.
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Alvaredo, Facundo, Dept Econ, Oxford, England.
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Alvaredo, Facundo, Consejo Nacl Invest Cient \& Tecn, Consejo Nacl Invest Cient
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\& Tecn, RA-1033 Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina.
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Atkinson, Anthony B., London Sch Econ, London WC2A 2AE, England.
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Piketty, Thomas, Paris Sch Econ, Paris, France.
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Saez, Emmanuel, Univ Calif Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA.'
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author: Alvaredo, Facundo and Atkinson, Anthony B. and Piketty, Thomas and Saez, Emmanuel
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author-email: 'alvaredo@gmail.com
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tony.atkinson@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
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piketty@ens.fr
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saez@econ.berkeley.edu'
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author_list:
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- family: Alvaredo
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given: Facundo
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- family: Atkinson
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given: Anthony B.
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- family: Piketty
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given: Thomas
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- family: Saez
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given: Emmanuel
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da: '2023-09-28'
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doi: 10.1257/jep.27.3.3
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eissn: 1944-7965
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esi-highly-cited-paper: Y
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esi-hot-paper: N
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files: []
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issn: 0895-3309
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journal: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
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keywords-plus: INCOME INEQUALITY; LONG-RUN; TAX
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language: English
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month: SUM
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number: '3'
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number-of-cited-references: '34'
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pages: 3-20
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papis_id: b91dfc4117b50b79e83894640a656464
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ref: Alvaredo2013top1
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researcherid-numbers: MOTREB, ayoub EL/AAB-1710-2019
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times-cited: '329'
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title: The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Perspective
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2023-10-01 08:15:07 +00:00
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type: article
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2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
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unique-id: WOS:000322902300001
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usage-count-last-180-days: '9'
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usage-count-since-2013: '151'
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volume: '27'
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web-of-science-categories: Economics
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year: '2013'
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