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Fall 2020
ISSN 0890-913X
Volume 35, Number 3

Has Economic Growth Made Americans Better Off despite Rising Income Inequality? Evidence from Subjective Well-Being Data

Boris Nikolaev, Baylor University
Daniel L. Bennett, Baylor University
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/index.php?action=ajax&rs=GDMgetPage&rsargs[]=Parte5 2020 Journal of Private Enterprise Vol 35 No 3 Fall.pdf&rsargs[]=0
TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise35(3),2020,6392HasEconomicGrowthMadeAmericansBetterOffdespiteRisingIncomeInequality?EvidencefromSubjectiveWell-BeingDataBorisNikolaevBaylorUniversityDanielL.BennettBaylorUniversity_____________________________________________________AbstractAlargeportionoftherealincomegainsfromUSeconomicgrowthsincethe1970shasaccruedtothetopincomequartile.Weevaluatetheequalityefficiencytrade-offusingsubjectivewell-beingdatafromtheGeneralSocialSurvey.Specifically,weestimatetheparameterofinequalityaversionwithinaneoutilitarianframeworkofwelfareanalysisandcalculatetheAtkinsonInequalityIndex.Wethenusethisinformationtoevaluatesocialwelfareovertheperiod19742012.Theanalysissuggeststhateconomicgrowthhasbeensufficienttoraisesocialwelfaredespitetherisinglevelofincomeinequality,butAmericanshavebecomemoreinequalityaverseovertime._____________________________________________________JELCodes:D63,I31,O15,O51Keywords:happiness,incomeinequality,inequalityaversion,economicgrowth,socialwelfare,subjectivewell-beingI.IntroductionRecentstudiesinhappinesseconomicssuggestthatcreatingamoreegalitariansociety(Alesina,DiTella,andMacCulloch2004;GrahamandFelton2006)1andincreasingtheabsolutelevelofpersonalincome(FreyandStutzer2002;KahnemanandDeaton2010)maypromoteahappiersociety.Yet,asOkun(1975)pointsout,economicgrowthandincomeequalitymaybemutuallyexclusivepublicpolicyobjectives(seealsoVedderandGallaway1999).WhilepercapitaGDPgrewbynearly2percentperyearfrom1970through2010,incomeinequalityalsogenerallyincreasedoverthisperiod.Figure1showstheevolutionoftopincomesharesintheUnitedStatesfrom1970to2010.Theshareofnationalincomeconcentratedinthetop11Theliteratureontherelationshipbetweeninequalityandhappinesshasproducedmixedfindings(e.g.,Snowdon2012).
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