This setting lets you change the way you view articles. You can choose to have articles open in a dialog window, a new tab, or directly in the same window.
Open in Dialog
Open in New Tab
Open in same window

American Economic Review: Vol. 101 No. 7 (December 2011)

AER Volume. 101, Issue 7 | leftPrevious ArticleNext Articleright

Expand

Quick Tools:

Print Article Summary Email Link to this Article Export Citation
Sign up for Email Alerts Follow us on Twitter

Explore:

AER - All Issues

AER Forthcoming Articles

Sources of Lifetime Inequality

Article Citation

Huggett, Mark, Gustavo Ventura, and Amir Yaron. 2011. "Sources of Lifetime Inequality." American Economic Review, 101(7): 2923-54.

DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.7.2923

Abstract

Is lifetime inequality mainly due to differences across people established early in life or to differences in luck experienced over the working lifetime? We answer this question within a model that features idiosyncratic shocks to human capital, estimated directly from data, as well as heterogeneity in ability to learn, initial human capital, and initial wealth. We find that, as of age 23, differences in initial conditions account for more of the variation in lifetime earnings, lifetime wealth, and lifetime utility than do differences in shocks received over the working lifetime. (JEL D31, D91, J24, J31)

Article Full-Text Access

Full-text Article

Additional Materials

Download Data Set (18.33 MB)

Authors

Huggett, Mark (Georgetown U)
Ventura, Gustavo (AZ State U)
Yaron, Amir (U PA)

JEL Classifications

D31: Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
D91: Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
J24: Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J31: Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials


American Economic Review



AEA Member Login:


Quick Tools:

Email Link to this Issue

Sign up for Email Alerts

Follow us on Twitter

Subscription Information
(Institutional Administrator Access)

Explore:

AER - All Issues

AER - Forthcoming Articles

AEA Journals

Virtual Field Journals

AEAweb | AEA Journals | Contact Us