American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Sources of Lifetime Inequality
American Economic Review
vol. 101,
no. 7, December 2011
(pp. 2923–54)
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)Citation
Huggett, Mark, Gustavo Ventura, and Amir Yaron. 2011. "Sources of Lifetime Inequality." American Economic Review 101 (7): 2923–54. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.7.2923Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D31 Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
- D15 Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials