Income and wealth volatility: evidence from Italy and the U.S. in the past two decades

Giorgia Menta, Edward N. Wolff, Conchita D’ Ambrosio

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Income volatility and wealth volatility are central objects of investigation for the literature on income and wealth inequality and dynamics. Here we analyse the two concepts in a comparative perspective for the same individuals in Italy and the U.S. over the last two decades. We find that in both countries wealth volatility reaches significantly higher values than income volatility, the effect being mostly driven by changes in the market value of real estate assets. We also show that there is more volatility in both dimensions in the U.S. and that the overall trend in both countries is increasing over time. We conclude by exploring volatility in consumption.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)293-313
    Number of pages21
    JournalJournal of Economic Inequality
    Volume19
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jun 2021

    Keywords

    • Income volatility
    • PSID
    • SHIW
    • Wealth volatility

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Sociology and Political Science
    • General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
    • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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