Abstract
This article first describes the main developments in measuring the upper tail of the income and wealth distributions over the last twenty years. Second, it points out some of the key methodological challenges and how better data could address them. Third, it discusses the academic and policy impacts of upper tail measurement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alvaredo, F., Atkinson, A.B., Piketty, T., Saez, E.: The world top incomes database. Online between January 2011 and December 2015 (2011-2015)
Alvaredo, F., Chancel, L., Piketty, T., Saez, E., Zucman, G. (eds.): The World Inequality Report 2018. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (2018)
Atkinson, A.B., Piketty, T.: Top Incomes over the Twentieth Century. A Contrast Between European and English Speaking Countries. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2007)
Atkinson, A.B., Piketty, T.: Top Incomes. A Global Perspective. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2010)
Atkinson, A.B., Piketty, T., Saez, E.: Top incomes in the long-run of history. J. Econ. Lit. 49(1), 3–71 (2011)
Blanchet, T., Chancel, L., et al.: Distributional National Accounts Guidelines: Methods and Concepts Used in the World Inequality Database. World Inequality Lab, Paris (2020)
Blanchet, T., Fournier, J., Piketty, T.: “Generalized Pareto curves: theory and evidence”, forthcoming in review of income and wealth (2021)
Bozio, A., Garbinti, B., Goupille-Lebret, J., Guillot, M., Piketty, T.: “Inequality and Redistribution in France, 1990–2018: Evidence from Post-Tax Distributional National Accounts (DINA)”, WIL Working Paper (2018)
Bozio, A., Garbinti, B., Goupille-Lebret, J., Guillot, M., Piketty, T.: “Predistribution vs. Redistribution: Evidence from France and the U.S.”, WIL Working Paper (2020)
Chancel, L., Piketty, T., Saez, E., Zucman, G. (eds.): The World Inequality Report 2021. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (2022)
Chernow, R.: Titan: the Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Random House, New York (1998)
Eisinger, J., Ernsthausen, J., Kiel, P.: “The secret IRS files: trove of never-before-seen records reveal how the wealthiest avoid income tax.” ProPublica June 8 (2021)
Feldstein, M.: The effect of marginal tax rates on taxable income: a panel study of the 1986 tax reform act. J. Polit. Econ. 103(3), 551–572 (1995)
Garbinti, B., Goupille-Lebret, J., Piketty, T.: “Inequality Dynamics in France, 1900–2014: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts (DINA)”, Journal of Public Economics, Income Inequality in France, 1900-2014: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts (DINA) (2018)
Garbinti, B., Goupille-Lebret, J., Piketty, T.: “Accounting for Wealth Inequality Dynamics: Methods, Estimates and Simulations for France” Forthcoming Journal of the European Economic Association, Correction to: Accounting for Wealth-Inequality Dynamics: Methods, Estimates, and Simulations for France (2021)
Kuznets, S.: Shares of Upper Income Groups in Income and Savings. NBER (1953)
Pareto, V.: “La courbe de la répartition de la richesse.” Ecrits sur la courbe de la répartition de la richesse, (Pareto writings collected by G. Busino, Librairie Droz, 1965), 1–15 (1896)
Piketty, T.: Les hauts revenus en France au XXème siècle: Inégalités et redistributions 1901–1998. Grasset, Paris (2001)
Piketty, T.: Capital in the 21st Century. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (2014)
Piketty, T.: Capital and Ideology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (2020)
Piketty, T., Saez, E.: Income inequality in the United States, 1913-1998. Q. J. Econ. 118(1), 1–39 (2003)
Piketty, T., Saez, E., Zucman, G.: Distributional National Accounts: methods and estimates for the United States. Q. J. Econ. 133(2), 553–609 (2018)
Reynolds, A.: Income and wealth, vol. 2006. Greenwood Publishing Group (2006)
Robbins, J.: “Capital Gains and the Distribution of Income in the United State.” PhD thesis, Brown University (2018)
Saez, E.: Public economics and inequality: uncovering our social nature. Am. Econ. Assoc. Pap. Proce. 111(2021), 1–26 (2021)
Saez, E., Zucman, G.: Wealth inequality in the United States: evidence from capitalized income tax data. Q. J. Econ. 131(2), 519–578 (2016)
Saez, E., Zucman, G.: The Triumph of Injustice: how the Rich Dodge Taxes and how to Make them Pay. W.W. Norton, New York (2019)
Saez, E., Zucman, G.: The rise of income and wealth inequality in America: evidence from distributional macroeconomic accounts. J. Econ. Perspect. 34(4), 3–26 (2020)
United Nations.: “System of National Accounts 2008,” European Communities, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations, and World Bank (2009)
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge funding from the Berkeley Center for Equitable Growth, the Berkeley Stone Center on Wealth and Income Inequality, and the European Research Council.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This paper has been prepared for a special issue of the Journal of Economic Inequality entitled “Finding the Upper Tail”.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Piketty, T., Saez, E. & Zucman, G. Twenty Years and Counting: Thoughts about Measuring the Upper Tail. J Econ Inequal 20, 255–264 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-022-09536-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-022-09536-8