This paper was originally presented a the Fourth International Research Seminar of the Foundation for International Studies on Social Security (FISS) in June 1997 in Sigtuna, Sweden. In the United States, several public policy initiatives have been undertaken to encourage more work and later...

Using two period comparisons of six wealthy nations, the authors look at the extent of inequality at three levels of income: earned income, market income, and after tax and transfer disposable income. Interesting implications of the results are discussed.

Compares the ability of prime-age, able-bodied workers in the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Netherlands, and the U.K. to keep themselves and their households out of poverty by working. The authors find that although the probability of being poor is smaller in households in which the head works...

German and US LIS data are used to compare the relative economic well-being of Germans and Americans in the 1980s. Both official and consumption-based country specific equivalence scales are used.

This paper summarizes the highlights and implications of the forthcoming OECD project report entitled 'Income Distribution in OECD Countries: The Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study.'

This paper summarizes the recent literature on income distribution in European nations drawing on some of the material used in the OECD project report (see above) and additional new material.

Cross-national comparisons of earnings inequality can be misleading when unemployment rates and rate of female labor force participation differ across countries. This is because such comparisons implicitly place zero values on underutilized labor market activity and domestic labor. This paper...

This article builds on other reviews of changes in earnings inequality in the U.S. in tow important directions. First, the review is expanded to include other major industrialized countries, and second, the focus is broadened from earnings to household income. The general finding is that the...

This paper investigates the real living standards and poverty status of United States children in the 1990's compared to the children in 17 other nations, including Europe, Scandinavia, Canada and Australia. We find that American low-income children have lower real spendable income than do...

This paper is motivated by the fact that even though most advanced economies have experienced similar changes in family structure and in the structure of their labor markets during the past two decades, their child poverty rates vary dramatically, from less than 3 percent to more than 20...