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Trends in U.S. Spatial Inequality: Concentrating Affluence and a Democratization of Poverty

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Listed:
  • Cecile Gaubert
  • Patrick M. Kline
  • Damián Vergara
  • Danny Yagan

Abstract

We study trends in income inequality across U.S. states and counties 1960-2019 using a mix of administrative and survey data sources. Both states and counties have diverged in terms of per-capita pre-tax incomes since the late 1990s, with transfers serving to dampen this divergence. County incomes have been diverging since the late 1970s. These trends in mean income mask opposing patterns among top and bottom income quantiles. Top incomes have diverged markedly across states since the late 1970s. In contrast, bottom income quantiles and poverty rates have converged across areas in recent decades.

Suggested Citation

  • Cecile Gaubert & Patrick M. Kline & Damián Vergara & Danny Yagan, 2021. "Trends in U.S. Spatial Inequality: Concentrating Affluence and a Democratization of Poverty," NBER Working Papers 28385, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28385
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    Cited by:

    1. Luisa Corrado & Daniela Fantozzi & Simona Giglioli, 2022. "Real-time ineuqalities and policies during the pandemic in the US," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1396, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Tom Kemeny & Sergio Petralia & Michael Storper, 2022. "Disruptive innovation and spatial inequality," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2211, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2022.
    3. Christian Awuku-Budu & Dirk van Duym, 2022. "Developing Statistics on the Distribution of State Personal Income: Methodology and Preliminary Results," BEA Working Papers 0197, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    4. Lang, Valentin, 2024. "The distributional effects of place-based policies in the EU," ZEW Discussion Papers 24-039, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Hu, Xiao & Liang, Che-Yuan, 2022. "Does income redistribution prevent residential segregation?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 519-542.
    6. Benjamin K. Couillard & Christopher L. Foote & Kavish Gandhi & Ellen Meara & Jonathan Skinner, 2021. "Rising Geographic Disparities in US Mortality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 123-146, Fall.
    7. Katheryn N. Russ & Jay C. Shambaugh & Sanjay R. Singh, 2024. "Currency Areas, Labor Markets, and Regional Cyclical Sensitivity," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 72(1), pages 152-195, March.
    8. Petralia, Sergio & Kemeny, Thomas & Storper, Michael, 2023. "The transformative effects of tacit technological knowledge," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120154, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Yannis Psycharis & Vassilis Tselios & Panagiotis Pantazis, 2024. "Cohesion policy and household income inequality: evidence from the Greek regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 73(4), pages 1563-1591, December.
    10. Luis Bauluz & Sebastien Breau & Pawel Bukowski & Mark Fransham & Annie Seong Lee & Neil Lee & Margarita Lopez Forero & Clement Malgouyres & Filip Novokmet & Moritz Schularick & Gregory Verdugo, 2023. "Spatial wage inequality in North America and Western Europe: changes between and within local labour markets 1975-2019," CEP Discussion Papers dp1941, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    11. Agrawal David R. & Foremny Dirk, 2022. "Redistribution In A Globalized World," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 242(5-6), pages 551-567, December.
    12. Anne Beck & Sebastian Doerr, 2023. "The financial origins of regional inequality," BIS Working Papers 1151, Bank for International Settlements.
    13. Bastian, Jacob E. & Black, Dan A., 2024. "Relaxing financial constraints with tax credits and migrating out of rural and distressed America," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    14. Andrew W. Nutting, 2023. "Geographic earnings inequality by race, 1960–2016," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 290-339, March.
    15. Kemeny, Tom & Storper, Michael, 2022. "The changing shape of spatial inequality in the United States," SocArXiv wnd8t, Center for Open Science.
    16. Maximiliano Dvorkin & Brian Greaney, 2024. "The geography of wealth: shocks, mobility, and precautionary savings," Working Papers 2024-033, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, revised 30 Sep 2024.
    17. Sébastien Breau & Annie Lee, 2023. "The evolution of the Kuznets curve in Canada," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(4), pages 709-735, August.
    18. Dylan Shane Connor & Tom Kemeny & Michael Storper, 2024. "Frontier workers and the seedbeds of inequality and prosperity," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 393-414.
    19. Tom Kemeny & Michael Storper, 2024. "The Changing Shape of Spatial Income Disparities in the United States," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 100(1), pages 1-30, January.
    20. Berbée, Paul & Braun, Sebastian & Franke, Richard, 2022. "Reversing fortunes of German regions, 1926-2019: Boon and bane of early industrialization?," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-025, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    21. Ning Jia & Raven Molloy & Christopher Smith & Abigail Wozniak, 2023. "The Economics of Internal Migration: Advances and Policy Questions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 144-180, March.
    22. Cameron LAPOINT & SAKABE Shogo, 2021. "Place-Based Policies and the Geography of Corporate Investment," Discussion papers 21059, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    23. Kindsgrab, Paul M., 2022. "Do higher income taxes on top earners trickle down? A local labor markets approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    24. Kim, Min Kyong & Bhattacharya, Jayanta & Bhattacharya, Joydeep, 2024. "Is income inequality linked to infectious disease prevalence? A hypothesis-generating study using tuberculosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

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