Income Security Policy Paper No. 13
Recounting Winners and Losers in the 1980s: A Critique of Income Distribution Measurement Methodology
Richard V. Burkhauser, Amy D. Crews, and Mary C. Daly
August 1996
Abstract: The 1980s have been characterized as a time
when the "rich got richer and the poor
got poorer." Using a cross-over point
methodology used in several recent studies,
the paper shows how sensitive the measurement
of winners and losers can be to seemingly
small differences in methodological practice.
Specifically, the paper shows sensitivity to
the years compared, the income sharing unit
chosen, and the inflation index used. Our
results show that these and other studies of
economic well-being exaggerate losses by
mixing cyclical with cross-cycle effects.
A revised version of this paper was
published in Economic Letters,
54(1997): 35-40. Those interested in this work
should see that journal.
Income
Security Policy Paper Series
Aging
Studies Program Page
Free CPR Publications Subscription
File current as of
If you have any questions or comments, please contact the webmaster.