Full Citation
Title: Within-Group Earnings Inequality in Cross-National Perspective
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2018
ISBN:
ISSN: 14682672
DOI: 10.1093/esr/jcy011
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Abstract: In this research I assess within-group inequality--earnings inequality occurring among otherwise similar individuals based on observed characteristics--in a cross-national comparative perspective. While scholarly interest in the within-group portion of inequality has grown over the past 25 years, virtually all studies focus on the US case. The current research shifts focus by assessing within-group inequality in a cross-national comparative study. I do so by constructing a unique data set of country-level measures of within- and between-group inequality for annual market earnings using Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) microdata from 1.36 million full-time prime-age male and female workers nested in 143 countryyears, drawn from 28 countries spanning 40 years. I then document and describe basic betweencountry and longitudinal trends in the relationship between total inequality and within-group inequality. I find that in nearly all countries in the LIS, within-group inequality is the primary driver of levels and trends in inequality. As inequality increases, so too does the relative importance of within-group inequality. However, substantial cross-national heterogeneity based in labour market institutions and employment protection legislation is found. Theoretical and substantive implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Authors: Vanheuvelen, Tom
Publisher: Oxford University Press
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