Was the increase in income inequality in the US due to permanent shocks or merely to an increase in the variance of transitory shocks? The implications for consumption and welfare depend crucially on the answer to this question. We use CEX repeated cross-section data on consumption and income to...

We use CEX repeated cross-section data on consumption and income, to evaluate the nature of increased income inequality in the 1980s and 90s. We decompose unexpected changes in family income into transitory and permanent, and idiosyncratic and aggregate components, and estimate the contribution...

The aim of the present paper is to identify the main determinants of private consumption in Greece for the recent period 2003:Q1- 2020:Q1. The issue is of particular interest for Greece, now that the economy is trying to return to a sustainable growth path following the pandemic episode, since...

Without data on individual consumption, inequality across individuals is almost invariably inferred by applying adult equivalence scales to household-level consumption data. To assess whether these household-based measures of inequality are effective, we exploit a rare opportunity in which...

This paper follows two strategies to address whether the rich save more. First, the paper implements a two-stage procedure in which the household's lifetime income is instrumented with the education level of the household head and the education level of his/her partner. Second, using information...

I study the relationship between consumption of the nonrich households and the rise in income inequality in Italy over 1993-2016. A 10% increase in the 90th percentile of the regional income distribution is associated with an increase in consumption of households below the 90th percentile by...

With 20 years of PSID data, we document persistent racial differentials in life-cycle consumption dynamics. Starting from similar positions in the consumption distribution Blacks end up in lower percentiles than Whites. Education, income, and wealth are three key drivers of these different...

Using the Chinese urban household survey data between 1997 and 2006, we find that income inequality has a negative (positive) impact on households' consumption (savings), even after we control for family income. We argue that people save to improve their social status when social status is...

Was the increase in income inequality in the US due to permanent shocks or merely to an increase in the variance of transitory shocks? The implications for consumption and welfare depend crucially on the answer to this question. We use CEX repeated cross-section data on consumption and income to...