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  3. American Economic Review
  4. May 2015
  5. Heterogeneity in the Impact of Economic Cycles and the Great Recession: Effects within and across the Income Distribution

Heterogeneity in the Impact of Economic Cycles and the Great Recession: Effects within and across the Income Distribution

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine the effects of economic cycles on low- to moderate-income families. We use variation across states and over time to estimate the effects of cycles on the distribution of income, using fine gradations of the household income-to-poverty ratio. We also explore how the effects of cycles affect the risk of falling into poverty across demographic groups, focusing on age, race/ethnicity, and family type. We conclude by testing to see whether these relationships have changed in the Great Recession. We discuss the results in light of the changes in the social safety net in recent decades.

Citation

Bitler, Marianne, and Hilary Hoynes. 2015. "Heterogeneity in the Impact of Economic Cycles and the Great Recession: Effects within and across the Income Distribution." American Economic Review, 105 (5): 154-60. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20151055

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D31 Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
  • E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
  • I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
  • I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
  • J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
  • J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination