Inequality and the Deficit

24 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2011

Date Written: April 25, 2011

Abstract

The enormous increase in economic inequality in the United States should play a central role in public discourse about the federal deficit. This essay reviews statistical evidence of trends in the distribution of income and wealth in the United States. The evidence demonstrates a dramatic increase in economic inequality. The gap between the rich and poor, and between the rich and the middle class, is today wider than at any other time in the past four decades.

Keywords: federal deficit, economic inequality

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K30, I30, J30, J60, H5

Suggested Citation

Cohen, Stephen B., Inequality and the Deficit (April 25, 2011). Georgetown Law and Economics Research Paper No. 11-13, Georgetown Public Law Research Paper No. 11-101, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1890645

Stephen B. Cohen (Contact Author)

Georgetown University Law Center ( email )

600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States
202-662-9068 (Phone)
202-662-9444 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
289
Abstract Views
1,817
Rank
192,249
PlumX Metrics