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Income and wealth volatility: evidence from Italy and the U.S. in the past two decades

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Abstract

Income volatility and wealth volatility are central objects of investigation for the literature on income and wealth inequality and dynamics. Here we analyse the two concepts in a comparative perspective for the same individuals in Italy and the U.S. over the last two decades. We find that in both countries wealth volatility reaches significantly higher values than income volatility, the effect being mostly driven by changes in the market value of real estate assets. We also show that there is more volatility in both dimensions in the U.S. and that the overall trend in both countries is increasing over time. We conclude by exploring volatility in consumption.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

    Giorgia Menta & Conchita D’ Ambrosio

  2. New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Edward N. Wolff

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  1. Giorgia Menta
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  2. Edward N. Wolff
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  3. Conchita D’ Ambrosio
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Correspondence to Giorgia Menta.

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We are grateful to Anthony Lepinteur and to an anonymous referee for their useful comments. D’Ambrosio and Menta gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg (Grants C18/SC/12677653 and 10949242).

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Menta, G., Wolff, E.N. & D’ Ambrosio, C. Income and wealth volatility: evidence from Italy and the U.S. in the past two decades. J Econ Inequal 19, 293–313 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-020-09473-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-020-09473-4

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