Predistribution versus Redistribution: Evidence from France and the United Statest

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bozio, Antoine; Garbinti, Bertrand; Goupille-lebret, Jonathan; Guillot, Malka; Piketty, Thomas
• 署名单位: Institut Polytechnique de Paris; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon (ENS de LYON); University of Liege
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20220023
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 31-65
• 关键词: income inequality; wages; taxes

摘要

We construct series of posttax income for France over the 1900-2018 period and compare them with US series. We quantify the extent of redistribution -the reduction from pretax to posttax inequality -and estimate the contribution of redistribution in explaining differences in posttax inequality. We find that di f ferences in pretax inequality drive most of the differences in posttax inequality between France and the United States, and that changes over time in both countries are mostly due to changes in pretax inequality. We highlight that the concept of redistribution can be empirically misleading for judging how policies reduce inequalities. ( JEL D31, H23, H24, H31, I38 )