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Earnings Dynamics and Inequality among Canadian Men, 1976–1992: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Records

Michael Baker1; Gary Solon2

1 University of Toronto · 2 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

Journal of Labor Economics 2003

Using an extraordinary database drawn from longitudinal income tax records, we decompose Canada’s 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 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.

DOI
10.1086/345559
Volume
21 (2)
Pages
289-321
Language
en
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