Zipf’s Law, Pareto’s Law, and the Evolution of Top Incomes in the U.S.∗
نویسندگان
چکیده
Abstract We construct a tractable neoclassical growth model that generates Pareto’s law of income distribution and Zipf’s law of firm size distribution from idiosyncratic, firm-level productivity shocks. CEOs invest in risk-free assets as well as their own firms’ risky stocks, through which their assets and incomes depend on firm-level shocks. Using the model, we evaluate how changes in tax rates can account for the recent evolution of top incomes in the U.S. The model matches the decline in the Pareto exponent of income distribution and the trend of the top 1% income share in the U.S. in recent decades.
منابع مشابه
Analysis of Stochastic Evolution
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