Institutions are important for proper economic performance, but are replaceable by trust or other social norms. We show that when proper institutions and trust are missing, integrity of the individuals can replace them. We construct a model of a transactions-based economy with contracts...

Institutions are important for proper economic performance, but are replaceable by trust or other social norms. We show that when proper institutions and trust are missing, integrity of the individuals can replace them. We construct a model of a transactions-based economy with contracts...

This paper aims to measure the degree of income mobility in Brazil in the 1987-2005 period. To achieve that, we consider the axiomatic mobility approach and the dynamic tool suggested by Aebi et al. (1999). The transition probability matrix calculations and the mobility index indicate that...

This paper examines the recent trends in household income volatility in the United States, Germany and Great Britain, and compares household income volatility with individual income volatility. I estimate a formal error components model using the Cross-national Equivalence File from 1979 to...

It is shown that convergence in inequality has been significantly slower amongst developing countries.

In this note we introduce a family of functions that various theoretical results have revealed as useful mobility measures. These functions have enabled us to circumvent an impossibility result obtained by Shorrocks (1978), by adapting one of his axioms to the context of mobility as movement. A...

The personal income distribution (PID) above the Pareto threshold is studied and modeled. A microeconomic model is proposed to simulate the PID and its evolution below and above the Pareto income threshold. The model balances processes of income production and dissipation for any person above 15...

In this article, polarization measurement is presented as a useful tool for characterizing the net transfers of income between individuals caused by a tax reform. The bipolarization measure, which considers just two poles and involves the disappearance of the middle class, may complement...

I compare personal and household income taxation and study the effects of tax progression under the two systems. Potential reforms of the Italian tax system are simulated, endogenizing labor supply reactions. Results show that, with respect to a number of indicators, the choice of the tax unit...

Income inequality typically declines with the length of time taken into account for measurement. This note derives an exact analytical relationship between the accounting period and inequality as measured by the Gini index. The formal relationship is similar to the decomposition of the...