GDP is a measure of total income in a country. For at least the two decades before 1980, American median income grew about as fast as GDP and Americans below the median income saw faster growth than Americans who were…
GDP is a measure of total income in a country. For at least the two decades before 1980, American median income grew about as fast as GDP and Americans below the median income saw faster growth than Americans who were…
Back in 2011, which kind of license would cost more money to obtain in New York City? A license to practice medicine or a license to drive a taxi cab? A taxi cab medallion cost over $1 million in 2011…
The current tax bill is largely motivated by the theory that if you give tax cuts to successful rich people, even though it increases inequality, it will be worth it because these elites will create jobs through innovation with the…
Raj Chetty et al. published a study of the correlation of class and life expectancy that got a lot of press, but I hadn’t actually looked at the original publication until this week. Here is the correlation between life expectancy…
Consider the economic wellbeing of South Africa and Ukraine in 2003. South Africa’s mean income at $10,400 was 67% higher than Ukraine’s at only $6,220 but Ukraine’s life expectancy was 67.4 years which is 25% higher than in South Africa at 53.7…
Although most people find it distasteful to put a dollar value on human life, people have been doing it for centuries and these judgements have always had a big impact on people. Before the 1960s, the motivation for putting an…
The Census just announced a historically rapid rise in median household income which is cause for celebration, but the reason why it rose is a bit less heartening. Basically, households are working more hours. The median earnings of individuals is still somewhat stagnant:…
