Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/81487 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 801
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
In this paper we use newly compiled top income share data to estimate common breaks and trends across countries over the twentieth century. By using the most re-cent structural breaks techniques, our approach both confirms previous notions and offers new insights. In particular, the division into an Anglo-Saxon and a Continental European experience does not seem to be as clear cut as previously suggested. Some continental European countries have had increases in top income shares, just as in the Anglo-Saxon countries, but typically with a lag. Most notably, we find that the Nordic countries display a marked “Anglo-Saxon” pattern, with sharply increased top income shares. Unlike in the Anglo-Saxon countries, however, including realized capital gains seems important in these countries. Our results help inform theories about the causes of the recent rise in inequality.
Subjects: 
Top Incomes
Income Inequality
Economic Development
Common Structural Breaks
JEL: 
C32
D30
N30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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