Income Inequality
Do Unequal Places Cost More To Live in?
In recent research, Yumin Hu, Luca Macedoni, and Mingzhi Xu explore how high income inequality can raise the costs of living. They compare grocery products around the U.S., finding that large retailers will increase the prices for their goods in places where income inequality is also high.
The Economics of Zohran Mamdani
Nikolaos Chatzarakis reviews some of the key economic platforms of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. He argues that Mamdani’s platform is ambitious but not unrealistic, and that criticisms of it often rely on simplistic models and theory. Still, there remain areas for improvement.
How Income Inequality Today Differs From the Past
Surya Gowda reviews Branko Milanović’s Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War and how his analysis of class and inequality applies to contemporary America.
Why Rising Markups Hurt Innovation and Widen Inequality
Over the past four decades, the United States has seen rising market power, slowing productivity growth, and deepening wealth inequality. In new research, Giammario...
Income Inequality May Worsen the Spread of Infectious Disease
Income inequality may exacerbate the spread of infectious diseases. In a new paper, Jay Bhattacharya, Joydeep Bhattacharya, and Min Kyong Kim examine the relationship between income inequality and the incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis across countries.
To Understand Earnings Inequality, We Need To Study Hours Inequality
A growing literature on income inequality and labor earnings has overlooked the contribution of disparities in hours worked. In new research with Lara Vivian,...
Plagues Upon the Earth: How Wealth Intersects With Mortality
Kyle Harper’s new book, Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History, shows that the story of disease is entangled with...
How Insufficient Enforcement Led to Prevalent Tax Evasion and Contributed to American Inequality
The prevalence of tax evasion among the top 1 percent of the income distribution is much worse than previously thought, a study by IRS...
Most Americans Consider Themselves Middle-Class. But Are They?
There are different ways of determining who should be considered middle-class. But there is one thing they have in common: all reveal that the...
Barriers to Entry as Another Source of Top Income Inequality
A new book, The Power of Creative Destruction, explores how lobbying contributes to the increase in the top 1 percent’s share of income. An...
