Sources and uses of incomes are disaggregated by household groups including the top 1%. Their importance (including saving rates) differs markedly across households. The SAM reveals two transfer flows exceeding 10% of GDP via fiscal (broadly progressive) and financial (regressive) channels. A third major flow over time has been a ten percentage point increase in the GDP share of the top 1%. A simulation model is used to illustrate how “reasonable” modifications to tax/transfer programs and increasing low wages cannot offset the historical redistribution toward the well-to-do.
Working Paper
Wage Increases, Transfers, and the Socially Determined Income Distribution in the USA
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