ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

There are many potential causes of income inequality in the United States.  They include market factors, tax and transfer policies, and other causes. Market Factors: Globalization - Low skilled American workers have been losing ground in the face of competition from low-wage workers in Asia and other "emerging" economies. While economists who have studied globalization agree imports have had an effect, the timing of import growth does not match the growth of income inequality. Superstar Hypothesis - Modern technologies of communication often turn competition into a tournament in which the winner is richly rewarded, while the runners-up get far less than in the past. Education - Income differences between the varying levels of educational attainment (usually measured by the highest degree of education an individual has completed) have increased.  Skill-Biased Technological Change - The rapid pace of progress in information technology has increased the demand for the highly

When we think about and discuss economic inequality in this country, we usually focus on income inequality: The CEO who makes 300 times more than his workers, or the fact that the top 20 percent of earners rake in over 50 percent of the total earnings in any given year. But there's another type of inequality that gets a lot less attention. It arguably contributes far more to the divide between the haves and have-nots in this country, and it's been highlighted in a huge new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: wealth inequality. Income is the amount of money you earn from your work or your investments. But wealth is the amount of stuff you own: your house, your car, savings, retirement accounts, etc. The great thing about wealth is that it's self-perpetuating. Your house gains value over time (so you hope). You can take $1,000, invest it in something that yields a 10 percent return, and have $1,100 by the year's end. Cool! ... ... ... ht

September 22, 2015 The many ways to measure economic inequality By Drew DeSilver ... ... ... ... http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/22/the-many-ways-to-measure-economic-inequality/

http://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide-to-statistics-on-historical-trends-in-income-inequality

Here are 35 soul-crushing facts about American income inequality.  For example, the money given out in Wall Street bonuses last year was twice the amount all minimum-wage workers earned combined. http://www.salon.com/2015/07/15/35_soul_crushing_facts_about_american_income_inequality_partner/

http://www.reuters.com/subjects/income-inequality