Earnings Dynamics and Inequality Among Canadian Men, 1976-1992: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Records
Michael Baker
University of Toronto - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Gary Solon
Michigan State University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
September 1999
NBER Working Paper No. w7370
Abstract:
Several recent studies have found that earnings inequality in Canada has grown considerably since the late 1970's. Using an extraordinary data base drawn from longitudinal income tax records, we decompose this growth in earnings inequality into its persistent and transitory components. We find that the growth in earnings inequality reflects both an increase in long-run inequality and an increase in earnings instability. The large size of our earnings panel allows us to estimate and test richer models of earnings dynamics than could be supported by the relatively small panel surveys used in U.S. research. The Canadian data strongly reject several restrictions commonly imposed in the U.S. literature, and they also suggest that imposing these evidently false restrictions may lead to distorted inferences about earnings dynamics and inequality trends.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 73
working papers series
Suggested Citation
Baker, Michael and Solon, Gary, Earnings Dynamics and Inequality Among Canadian Men, 1976-1992: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Records (September 1999). NBER Working Paper No. w7370. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=227578
