Predistribution versus Redistribution: Evidence from France and the United States

Antoine Bozio, Bertrand Garbinti, Jonathan Goupille-Lebret, Malka Guillot and Thomas Piketty
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Malka Guillot: HEC Liège

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Abstract: We construct series of posttax income for France over the 1900–2018 period and compare them with US series. We quantify the extent of redistribution—the reduction from pretax to posttax inequality—and estimate the contribution of redistribution in explaining differences in posttax inequality. We find that differences in pretax inequality drive most of the differences in posttax inequality between France and the United States, and that changes over time in both countries are mostly due to changes in pretax inequality. We highlight that the concept of redistribution can be empirically misleading for judging how policies reduce inequalities.

Date: 2024-04
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04524151v1
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Published in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2024, 16 (2), pp.31-65. ⟨10.1257/app.20220023⟩

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Journal Article: Predistribution versus Redistribution: Evidence from France and the United States (2024)
Working Paper: Predistribution versus Redistribution: Evidence from France and the United States (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04524151

DOI: 10.1257/app.20220023

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