Predistribution versus Redistribution: Evidence from France and the United States
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics · 2024 · Antoine Bozio、Bertrand Garbinti、Jonathan Goupille-Lebret、Malka Guillot、Thomas Piketty
中文摘要
我们构建了法国1900—2018年期间的税后收入序列，并将其与美国的相应序列进行比较。我们量化了再分配的程度——即从税前不平等到税后不平等的降幅——并估计了再分配在解释两国税后不平等差异中的贡献。我们发现，法国与美国税前不平等的差异驱动了两国税后不平等差异的大部分，而且两国税后不平等随时间的变化也主要源于税前不平等的变化。我们强调，在判断政策如何降低不平等方面，再分配这一概念在实证上可能具有误导性。（JEL D31, H23, H24, H31, I38）
Abstract
We construct series of posttax income for France over the 1900–2018 period and compare them with US series. We quantify the extent of redistribution—the reduction from pretax to posttax inequality—and estimate the contribution of redistribution in explaining differences in posttax inequality. We find that differences in pretax inequality drive most of the differences in posttax inequality between France and the United States, and that changes over time in both countries are mostly due to changes in pretax inequality. We highlight that the concept of redistribution can be empirically misleading for judging how policies reduce inequalities. (JEL D31, H23, H24, H31, I38)