First published 2010
Economists examine how income inequality has shifted across twenty-two countries over more than a century. A.B. Atkinson and Thomas Piketty compile tax record data spanning from 1875 to recent decades, covering nations from China and India to Argentina and Indonesia. The researchers trace how top earners' share of national income dropped dramatically in the early 1900s, primarily through reduced capital returns. They analyze how world wars affected belligerent versus neutral countries differently, and how economic crises and progressive taxation reshaped wealth distribution. The data reveals a striking reversal beginning in the 1980s, when top income shares surged in the United States and other English-speaking nations due to widening pay gaps. Continental European countries experienced smaller increases during this period. Each country chapter details specific data sources and long-term patterns, while the authors examine executive compensation and bonuses from a global viewpoint. The book provides researchers with comprehensive documentation of these trends and explores their underlying economic causes.
Genres: history, 20th-century, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Setting: Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, United States
Period: 1875, 1980s
800 pages · Hardcover · Oxford University Press