Skip to main content
Log in

Household income distribution in the USA

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
The European Physical Journal B Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this article we present an alternative model for the distribution of household incomes in the United States. We provide arguments from two differing perspectives which both yield the proposed income distribution curve, and then fit this curve to empirical data on household income distribution obtained from the United States Census Bureau.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. V. Pareto, in Cours d’Économie Politique (Rouge, Lausanne, 1897), Vol. 2

  2. V. Pareto, in Cours d’Économie Politique (Rouge, Lausanne, 1896), Vol. 1

  3. M. Mitzenmacher, Internet Math. 1, 226 (2004)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. A.B. Atkinson, F. Bourguignon, in Handbook of Income Distribution (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000), Vol. 1

  5. Econophysics and Sociophysics: Trends and Perspectives, edited by B.K. Chakrabarti, A. Chakraborti, A. Chatterjee (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2006)

  6. A.B. Atkinson, F. Bourguignon, in Handbook of Income Distribution (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2015), Vol. 2

  7. R. Gibrat, Les Inégalités Économiques (Sirely, Paris, 1931)

  8. D. Champernowne, Economic J. 63, 318 (1953)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. X. Gabaix, Quarterly J. Econ. 114, 739 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. H. Kesten, Acta Mathematica CXXXI, 207 (1973)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. H.A. Simon, Biometrika 42, 425 (1955)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. D. Sornette, R. Cont, J. Phys. I France 7, 431 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. A.A. Dragulescu, V.M. Yakovenko, Eur. J. Phys. B 20, 585 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. A.A. Dragulescu, V.M. Yakovenko, Physica A 299, 213 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Y. Fujiwara, W. Souma, H. Aoyama, T. Kaizoji, M. Aoki, Physica A 321, 598 (2003)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  16. M. Nirei, W. Souma, Rev. Income Wealth 53, 440 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. J.C. Ferrero, Physica A 341, 575 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. J.C. Ferrero, The Monomodal, Polymodal, Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Distribution of Money, in Econophysics of Wealth Distributions, edited by A. Chatterjee, S. Yarlagadda, B.K. Chakrabarti (Springer, Milan, 2005), pp. 159−167

  19. F. Clementi, M. Gallegati, Physica A 350, 427 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. F. Clementi, M. Gallegati, Pareto’s law of income distribution: evidence for Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, in Econophysics of Wealth Distributions, edited by A. Chatterjee, S. Yarlagadda, B.K. Chakrabarti (Springer, Milan, 2005), pp. 3−14

  21. F. Clementi, T. Di Matteo, M. Gallegati, Physica A 370, 49 (2006)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  22. A.A. Dragulescu, V.M. Yakovenko, Statistical mechanics of money, income, and wealth: a short survey, in Modeling of Complex Systems: Seventh Granada Lectures, edited by P.L. Garrido, J. Marro (American Institute of Physics Conf. Proc., New York), p. 661

  23. V.M. Yakovenko, J.B. Rosser, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1703 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. A. Banerjee, V. Yakovenko, New J. Phys. 12, 075032 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. F. Bassetti, G. Toscani, Phys. Rev. E 81, 066115 (2010)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  26. A. Chakraborti, B.K. Chakrabarti, Eur. Phys. J. B 17, 167 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. A. Chatterjee, B.K. Chakrabarti, S.S. Manna, Physica A 335, 155 (2004)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  28. A. Chatterjee, B.K. Chakrabarti, Eur. Phys. J. B 60, 135 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. F. Clementi, M. Gallegati, G. Kaniadakis, Eur. Phys. J. B 57, 187 (2007)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  30. S. Cordier, L. Pareschi, G. Toscani, J. Stat. Phys. 120, 253 (2005)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  31. M. Patriarca, E. Heinsalu, A. Chakraborti, Eur. Phys. J. B 73, 145 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. B.K. Chakrabarti, A. Chakraborti, S.R. Chakravarty, A. Chatterjee, Econophysics of Income and Wealth Distributions (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013)

  33. L. Pareschi, G. Toscani, Interacting Multiagent Systems: Kinetic Equations and Monte Carlo Methods (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014)

  34. F. Mandle, Statistical Physics, 2nd edn. (John Wiley & Sons, 1988)

  35. V.M. Yakovenko, Eur. Phys. J. B 729, 723 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  36. United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov

  37. J. Angle, Physica A 367, 388 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Costas J. Efthimiou.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Efthimiou, C., Wearne, A. Household income distribution in the USA. Eur. Phys. J. B 89, 82 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2016-60670-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2016-60670-1

Keywords

Navigation