Income Sources and Income Inequality: Measurements from Three U.S. Income Surveys

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Lerman, Robert I.^a | Lerman, Donald L.^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Economics, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20016-8029, USA | [b] Economics Research Service, USDA-ERS-ARED, 1301 New York Ave., NW., Room 824, Washington, DC 20005-4788, USA

Abstract: This paper examines the contribution of individual income sources to overall inequality. It provides new evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) on the marginal effects of earnings of family heads, capital income, spouses' earnings, and housing income. The results differ from an earlier study based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). In the SCF, capital income is more disequalizing while spouses' earnings is more equalizing than in the CPS. SCF measures of the effects of housing income are similar to those based on the Survey of Residential Finance.

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1989-15204

Journal: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 167-179, 1989