Class Structure and the US Personal Income Distribution, 1918–2012

Simon Mohun

Metroeconomica, 2016, vol. 67, issue 2, 334-363

Abstract: Quantitative measures of class, by percentile position and income share, are constructed using U.S. personal income distribution tax†unit data from 1918 to 2012. Three classes are identified: ‘capitalists’ with sufficient non†labour income that they do not need an employment contract (although typically they are in employment); ‘managers’, with insufficient non†labour income to meet that threshold; and ‘workers’ with no supervisory responsibilities in employment. Class measures of inequality show that inequality was very much greater by 2010†11 than at any time since 1918. The paper concludes with how causal explanations might be constructed and how the data might be used.

Date: 2016
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