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.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
V. Pareto, in Cours d’Économie Politique (Rouge, Lausanne, 1897), Vol. 2
V. Pareto, in Cours d’Économie Politique (Rouge, Lausanne, 1896), Vol. 1
M. Mitzenmacher, Internet Math. 1, 226 (2004)
A.B. Atkinson, F. Bourguignon, in Handbook of Income Distribution (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000), Vol. 1
Econophysics and Sociophysics: Trends and Perspectives, edited by B.K. Chakrabarti, A. Chakraborti, A. Chatterjee (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2006)
A.B. Atkinson, F. Bourguignon, in Handbook of Income Distribution (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2015), Vol. 2
R. Gibrat, Les Inégalités Économiques (Sirely, Paris, 1931)
D. Champernowne, Economic J. 63, 318 (1953)
X. Gabaix, Quarterly J. Econ. 114, 739 (1999)
H. Kesten, Acta Mathematica CXXXI, 207 (1973)
H.A. Simon, Biometrika 42, 425 (1955)
D. Sornette, R. Cont, J. Phys. I France 7, 431 (1997)
A.A. Dragulescu, V.M. Yakovenko, Eur. J. Phys. B 20, 585 (2001)
A.A. Dragulescu, V.M. Yakovenko, Physica A 299, 213 (2001)
Y. Fujiwara, W. Souma, H. Aoyama, T. Kaizoji, M. Aoki, Physica A 321, 598 (2003)
M. Nirei, W. Souma, Rev. Income Wealth 53, 440 (2007)
J.C. Ferrero, Physica A 341, 575 (2004)
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
F. Clementi, M. Gallegati, Physica A 350, 427 (2005)
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
F. Clementi, T. Di Matteo, M. Gallegati, Physica A 370, 49 (2006)
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
V.M. Yakovenko, J.B. Rosser, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1703 (2009)
A. Banerjee, V. Yakovenko, New J. Phys. 12, 075032 (2010)
F. Bassetti, G. Toscani, Phys. Rev. E 81, 066115 (2010)
A. Chakraborti, B.K. Chakrabarti, Eur. Phys. J. B 17, 167 (2000)
A. Chatterjee, B.K. Chakrabarti, S.S. Manna, Physica A 335, 155 (2004)
A. Chatterjee, B.K. Chakrabarti, Eur. Phys. J. B 60, 135 (2007)
F. Clementi, M. Gallegati, G. Kaniadakis, Eur. Phys. J. B 57, 187 (2007)
S. Cordier, L. Pareschi, G. Toscani, J. Stat. Phys. 120, 253 (2005)
M. Patriarca, E. Heinsalu, A. Chakraborti, Eur. Phys. J. B 73, 145 (2010)
B.K. Chakrabarti, A. Chakraborti, S.R. Chakravarty, A. Chatterjee, Econophysics of Income and Wealth Distributions (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013)
L. Pareschi, G. Toscani, Interacting Multiagent Systems: Kinetic Equations and Monte Carlo Methods (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014)
F. Mandle, Statistical Physics, 2nd edn. (John Wiley & Sons, 1988)
V.M. Yakovenko, Eur. Phys. J. B 729, 723 (2000)
United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov
J. Angle, Physica A 367, 388 (2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
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
Received:
Revised:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2016-60670-1