Piezoelectric membranes consisting of sputter deposited PbZrxTi1−xO3 (PZT) films on silicon diaphragms have been investigated for their resonance and piezoelectrical properties, in view of their application as stator of a micromotor. The behavior of resonance frequencies was studied as a function of membrane thickness and dc-bias, in order to derive the total stress in the films and the piezoel...

This paper argues that income inequality has increased in several, but not all, developed countries over the last twenty years. The increase in some countries supports the conclusion that the deregulation of markets, resulting in the concentration of economic power, is the fundamental cause as well as the gross manifestation of inequality of both income and wealth. JEL classifi cation: D30 (Gen...

We study the geographic incidence and efficiency of an income tax by estimating a spatial equilibrium model with heterogeneous workers. The US shifts households out high-productivity cities, leading to locational inefficiency 0.25 percent output. Removing distortions increases inequality because more educated are mobile own larger shares land. Flattening schedule, or introducing cost-of-living ...

In this paper we explore the application of structured additive distributional regression for the analysis of conditional income distributions in Germany following the reunification. Using a bootstrapped Kolmogorov-Smirnov test we find that conditional personal income distributions can generally be modelled using the three parameter Dagum distribution. Additionally our results hint at an even m...

Drawing on the author’s work, this lecture presents evidence on U.S. income and wealth inequality. It presents series for top income and wealth shares, and the distribution of economic growth by income groups. It discusses the mechanisms behind the evolution of U.S. income and wealth inequality from historical and comparative perspectives. It analyzes the role of public policy and in particular...

Two conversion schemes are usually employed for assessing personalincome inequality from household equivalent incomes: to weight household units by size or by needs. Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study, the authors show the sensitivity of country inequality rankings to conversion schemes and explain the finding by means of inequality decomposition. A bootstrap approach is implemented to...

The existing superstar model (Rosen, 1981) does not require imperfect substitutes, and the convexity of total earnings with respect to talent is due to greater output for those with more talent. Our model explains why wages would increase at an increasing rate in talent. Imperfect substitutability between non-superstars and superstars with probabilistic production results in convexity in wage r...

The domain of polyconvex sets, i.e. finite unions of convex, compact, Euclidean sets, is large enough to encompass most of the opportunity sets typically encountered in economic environments, including non-linear or even non-convex budget sets, and opportunity sets arising from production sets. We provide a characterization of the volume-ranking as defined on the set of all polyconvex sets, rel...

This paper computes optimal top marginal tax rates in Bewley-Huggett-Aiyagari–type economies that include entrepreneurs. Consistent with the data, entrepreneurs are overrepresented at of income distribution and thus disproportionately affected by an increase rate. The rate maximizes welfare is 60 percent. While average gains positive similar across occupations along transition, they larger for ...