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This article argues that public opinion regarding the legitimacy of income differences is influenced by actual income inequality. When income differences are perceived to be high, the public thinks of larger income inequality as legitimate. The phenomenon is explained by the system justification motivation and other psychological processes that favor existing social arrangements. Three experiments show that personal experiences of inequality as well as information regarding national-level income inequality can affect which income differences are thought of as legitimate. A fourth experiment shows that the system justification motivation is a cause of this effect. These results can provide an empirical basis for future studies to assume that the public reacts to inequality with adapted expectations, not increased demands for redistribution.

A rich literature examines the determinants of income inequality. Less is known about the distribution of income composition, or the extent to which different socio-economic groups hold different sources of income. This article explores the drivers of income composition inequality (ICI). Contrary to recent studies, which show that the composition of government has ceased to shape redistribution and income inequality dynamics, this article posits that left-wing parties are associated with lower income composition inequality. We test this expectation with data from thirty European countries between 2003 and 2017. Our results suggest that the polarization between capital and labor income holders declines under left-wing governments. We establish that this is mainly because left-wing parties seek to broaden access to capital income.

The aim of this contribution is to discuss closely the implications of income
inequality and the economic policies to tackle it, especially so in view of
inequality being one of the main causes of the 2007/2008 international
financial crisis and the ?great recession? that subsequently emerged. Wealth
inequality is also important in this respect, but the focus is on income
inequality. Ever since the financial crisis and the subsequent ?great
recession?, inequality of income, and wealth, has increased and the demand
for economic policy initiatives to produce a more equal distribution of
income and wealth has become more urgent. Such reduction would help to
increase the level of economic activity as has been demonstrated again more
recently. A number of economic policy initiatives for this purpose will be
the focus of this contribution.

Income inequality is a growing area of concern in both China and the United States, the world's two largest economies today. Alongside the traditional social welfare system, taxation and philanthropy are two alternative mechanisms to reduce inequality that have received increasing attention worldwide. This paper explores the roles of taxation and philanthropy in reducing inequality. In analyzing policies relating to taxation and philanthropy across several countries, this paper concludes that despite limitations and unintended consequences, under the current systems in China and the United States, taxation and philanthropy can and should be more effectively used to reduce income inequality.

"We revisit to what extent the increase in income inequality over the last 30 years has been mirrored by consumption inequality. We do so by constructing two alternative measures of consumption expenditure, using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE). We first use reports of active savings and after tax income to construct the measure of consumption implied by the budget constraint. We find that the consumption inequality implied by savings behavior largely tracks income inequality between 1980 and 2007. Second, we use a demand system to correct for systematic measurement error in the CE's expenditure data. Specifically, we consider trends in the relative expenditure of high income and low income households for different goods with different income (total expenditure) elasticities. Our estimation exploits the difference in the growth rate of luxury consumption inequality versus necessity consumption inequality. This "double-differencing,'' which we implement in a a regression framework, corrects for mis-measurement that can systematically vary over time by good and income group. This second exercise indicates that consumption inequality has closely tracked income inequality over the period 1980-2007. Both of our measures show a significantly greater increase in consumption inequality than what is obtained from the CE's total household expenditure data directly"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site

The first comprehensive effort to estimate household income and its distribution in China according to standard international definitions was made for the year 1988 by an international group of economists working with members of the host institution, the Economics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The sample survey designed by this team produced estimates of household income that were substantially different from those of the State Statistical Bureau (SSB), based on its annual surveys, with different implications for both the average standard of living and the degree of inequality of income distribution. The study, first reported in the pages of this journal in December 1992, found that per capita household income was both substantially higher and more unequally distributed than suggested by the SSB estimates. It also provided insights into sources of inequality in China that were unobtainable from the published official data on income and its distribution.

Statistische Analyse der Faktoren, die zu den Einkommensunterschieden in Israel zwischen a) ethnischen Gruppen und b) Männern und Frauen führen. Das wichtiste Ergebnis auf der Basis der Einkommensstatistik von 1997 ist: Ethnizität als alleiniger Faktor erklärt die Ungleichheit nicht; erst in Kombination mit anderen demographischen Faktoren wie Alter, Bildungsgrad oder Berufswahl wirkt sich die Zugehörigkeit zu einer bestimmten ethnischen Gruppe auf die Einkommenshöhe aus. Ein anderes Bild ergibt sich bei den Einkommensunterschieden zwischen den Geschlechtern: hier ist in gewissem Ausmaß eine fortbestehende Benachteiligung der Frauen - unabhängig von anderen demographischen Faktoren - festzustellen. (DÜI-Hns)

The purpose of this article is to examine the inequality in the distribution of income. The distribution of income is an important issue for all facets of our society. Many governmental policies (taxation, etc.), for example, influence the distribution of income. This article will look at the distribution of income on the basis of race, comparing the income distribution of Blacks versus the income distribution of Whites. Comparisons will be made between races as well as within each race.

We revisit to what extent the increase in income inequality since 1980 was mirrored by consumption inequality. We do so by constructing an alternative measure of consumption expenditure using a demand system to correct for systematic measurement error in the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Our estimation exploits the relative expenditure of high- and low-income households on luxuries versus necessities. This double differencing corrects for measurement error that can vary over time by good and income. We find consumption inequality tracked income inequality much more closely than estimated by direct responses on expenditures. (JEL D31, D63, E21)