Capital Shares and Income Inequality: Evidence from the Long Run

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 2018
Volume: 78
Issue: 3
Pages: 712-743

Authors (2)

Bengtsson, Erik (Lunds Universitet) Waldenström, Daniel (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This article studies the long-run relationship between the capital share in national income and top personal income shares. Using a newly constructed historical cross-country database on capital shares and top income data, we find evidence on a strong, positive link that has grown stronger over the past century. The connection is stronger in Anglo-Saxon countries, in the very top of the distribution, when top capital incomes predominate, when using distributed top national income shares, and when considering gross of depreciation capital shares. Out of-sample predictions of top shares using capital shares indicates several cases of over- or underestimation.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:78:y:2018:i:03:p:712-743_00
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24