Poverty and Income Distribution

Written by a leading scholar in the field, this textbook provides a thorough introduction to the topic of income distribution and poverty, with additional emphasis on the issues of inequality and discrimination. This book features an empirical focus, and includes sections on basic statistics, as well as optional econometric studies and more advanced mathematical handling of inequality measurement. Utilizing data from various countries around the globe, including the US and Europe, this textbook is international in its scope and provides a comparative element that will aid students in their studies. Up–to–date and comprehensive in its coverage, this new edition supplies a self–contained course on income distribution and poverty.

Spis treści:
Preface.
1. Introduction: issues and scope of book.
1.1 Recent trends in living standards.
1.1.1 Income and earnings stagnate while poverty remains unchanged.
1.1.2 Inequality rises sharply.
1.1.3 Middle class debt explodes.
1.1.4 What has happened to tax rates?.
1.1.5 Rising profits is the key.
1.1.6 Yet schooling has continued to rise.
1.1.7 Some conclusions.
1.2 Causes of rising inequality.
1.2.1 Skill–biased technology change.
1.2.2 The shift to services.
1.2.3. Declining unionization.
1.2.4. Globalization.
1.2.5 Downsizing and outsourcing.
1.2.6. Public policy changes.
1.3 Plan of the textbook.
Part I.Inequality, poverty, and mobility: measurement and trends.
2. Income, earnings, and the standard of living.
2.1 Introduction.
2.2 The composition of personal income in the United States.
2.3 Measuring the standard of living.
2.3.1 Real versus nominal.
2.3.1 Real versus nominal.
2.3.2. Trends in living standards in the U.S.
2.4 Factor shares.
2.4.1 Historical studies on factor shares∗.
2.5 International comparisons of living standards.
2.5.1 Per Capita income.
2.5.2 The Huma n Development Index.
2.6 Household production and well–being∗.
2.6.1 Defining household work.
2.6.2 The market cost approach.
2.6.3 The opportunity cost approach.
2.6.4 Empirical work on household production.
2.7 Summary.
2.8 References, bibliography, and data sources.
2.9 Discussion questions and problem set.
Appendix 2.1 An introduction to the national income and product accounts∗.
A2.1.1 The relation to the national accounts.
A2.1.2 The sources of personal income.
A2.1.3 The derivation of factor shares.
A2.1.4 Miscellaneous issues in national accounting.
A2.1.4.1 Treatment of international trade.
A2.1.4.2 National income at factor costs.
A2.1.4.3 The treatment of capital gains.
3. Income inequality: Its measurement, historical trends, and international comparisons.
3.1 Introduction.
3.2 Review of basic statistics.
3.2.1 Mean, variance and standard deviation.
3.2.2 Distributions.
3.2.3 Percentile ranking.
3.3 Inequality measures.
3.3.1Concentration measures.
3.3.2 Coefficient of variation.
3.3.3 The Lorenz curve.
3.3.4 Gini coefficient.
3.3.5 Log variance of income∗.
3.3.6 The Theil entropy index∗.
3.3.7 Atkinson′s measure∗.
3.3.8 Lorenz dominance∗.
3.4 Time trends in income inequality in the United States.
3.5 International comparisons of inequality.
3.5.1. Inequality comparisons among high–income countries.
3.5.2 The Kuznets curve.
3.5.3 The world distribution of income∗.
3.6 Summary.
3.7 References and bibliography.
3.8 Discussion questions and Problem Set.
4. Poverty: Definitions and historical trends.
4.1 Introduction.
4.2 The measurement of poverty.
4.2.1 The official U.S. poverty standard.
4.2.2 Absolute versus relative poverty thresholds.
4.2.3 Subjective poverty lines.
4.2.3.1 Formal derivation of the Leyden poverty line∗.
4.2.4 Other co ncepts of poverty.
4.3. Measurement of poverty incidence.
4.3.1 The poverty rate and the poverty gap ratio.
4.3.3 Composite measures of poverty.
4.4 Poverty trends in the U.S.
4.4.1 Composition of the poor.
4.5 Other dimensions of poverty.
4.5.1 Poverty spells and the permanence of poverty.
4.5.2 The underclass.
4.5.3 International comparisons of poverty rates.
4.6 Other Issues in the measurement of poverty.
4.6.1 Equivalence scales.
4.6.2 Choice of a price index.
4.6.3 The treatment of taxes.
4.6.4 The treatment of non–cash government benefits.
4.6.5 The role of household wealth.
4.6.6 Consumption–based measures of poverty.
4.6.7 Choice of the accounting period.
4.6.8 Other issues.
4.7 Summary.
4.8 References and bibliography.
4.9 Discussion questions and problem set.
5. Household wealth.
5.1 Introduction.
5.2 What is household wealth?.
5.2.1 Wealth and well–being.
5.2.2 Marketable wealth.
5.2.3 Other definitions of household wealth.
5.3 Historical time–series data on household wealth and its composition.
5.3.1 Trends in average wealth.
5.3.2 Changes in wealth composition.
5.3.3 Homeownership rates.
5.4. Wealth inequality in the United States.
5.4.1 Methods used to estimate wealth inequality.
5.4.1.1 Estate tax data.
5.4.1.2 Household survey data.
5.4.1.3 Income capitalization techniques.
5.4.1.4 Wealth tax data.
5.4.2 Long–term trends in household wealth inequality in the U.S.
5.4.2.1 Comparisons with income inequality.
5.4.2.3 Movements in stock and housing prices.
5.4.3 Changes in wealth inequality, 1962–2004.
5.4.3.1 Changes in average wealth holdings.
5.4.3.2 Trends in wealth inequality.
5.4.3.3 Portfolio composition by wealth and age class.
5.4.3.4 Relation between income and wealth.
5.4.4 The Forbes 400.
5.5. International comparisons of household wealth distribution.
5.5.1 Comparisons of long–term time trends.
5.5.2 Comparisons of recent trends.
5.6 Summary.
5.7 References and bibliography.
5.8 Discussion questions and problem set.
6. Economic Mobility.
6.1 Introduction.
6.2 Mobility measures.
6.2.1 Measuring intergenerational mobility.
6.2.2 The Shorrocks measure and other measures of lifetime mobility.
6.2.2.1 Standard measures.
6.2.2.2 More advanced mobility indices∗.
6.3 Mobility over time.
6.3.1 Income mobility.
6.3.2 Earnings mobility.
6.3.3 Other dimensions of mobility.
6.4 Intergenerational mobility.
6.4.1 Results for the United States.
6.4.2 Mechanisms of transmission.
6.4.3 International comparisons.
6.5 Wealth mobility.
6.6 Summary.
6.7 References and bibliography.
6.8 Discussion questions.
Part II. Explanations of inequality and poverty.
7. The labor force, employment, and unemployment.
7.1 Introduction.
7.2 Basic concepts of the labor force, employment, and unemployment.
7.2.1 Employment.
7.2.2 Unemployment.
7.2.3 The labor force.
7.2.4 Estimating employment statistics.
7.3 Labor force participation rates (LFPR).
7.3.1 LFPR by gender, race, and age.
7.3.2 Two–earner households.
7.3.3 Educational attainment of the labor force.
7.4 The industrial and occupational composition of employment.
7.5 Measures of unemployment and historical trends.
7.6 The incidence of unemployment.
7.6.1 Jobless rates by demographic characteristic.
7.6.2 Unemployment by industry, occupation, and region.
7.7 Types of unemployment.
7.7.1 Frictional unemployment.
7.7.2 Seasonal unemployment.
7.7.3 Structural unemployment.
7.7.4 Deficient demand (Keynesian) unemployment.
7.7.5 The debate over the causes of unemployment.
7.8 Summary.
7.9 References and bibliography.
7.10 Discussion questions.
8: The role of education and skills.
8.1 Introduction.
8.2 The huma