Review of Economic Dynamics · 2026 · Nezih Guner X、Christopher Rauh、Gustavo Jaime Ventura
中文摘要
在美国，面向劳动年龄家庭的基于家计调查的转移支付规模有多大、重要性有多高？利用收入与项目参与调查(Survey of Income and Program Participation)的微观数据，我们记录到：相当大比例的家庭——超过三分之一——在任一给定年份获得转移支付。以获得转移支付为条件，转移支付平均约为17,000美元(按2016年美元计)，超过家庭平均收入的五分之一。对于无收入家庭，条件转移支付总额达26,500美元，接近家庭平均收入的三分之一。转移支付随收入急剧下降，但即使在收入分布的中部与上部仍出人意料地普遍。该体系大幅压缩了不平等，其再分配功能随时间推移不断增强，这主要由医疗补助(Medicaid)的扩张所驱动。非医疗类转移支付具有强烈的逆周期性，而福利递减率(benefit reduction rates,即对所赚取第一美元收入的隐性税率)相当可观。我们按项目、家庭类型和收入水平提供了有效转移支付函数的参数化估计，可直接用于宏观经济学和公共财政领域的定量研究。
Abstract
How large and important are means-tested transfers to working-age households in the United States? Using microdata from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we document that a substantial share of households, more than one-third of them, receive transfers in a given year. Conditional on receipt, transfers average about $17,000 in 2016 dollars, exceeding one-fifth of mean household income. For households with no income, total conditional transfers amount to $26,500, nearly one-third of the mean household income. Transfers decline sharply with income but remain surprisingly widespread even in the middle and upper portions of the distribution. The system substantially compresses inequality, and its redistributive role has grown over time, driven largely by the expansion of Medicaid. Non-medical transfers are strongly countercyclical, and benefit reduction rates (the implicit tax rates on the first dollar earned) are significant. We provide parametric estimates of effective transfer functions by program, household type, and income level, ready for use in quantitative work in macroeconomics and public finance.