Inequality and the Top of the Income Distribution in Chile 1990-2012: Questioning the Consensus

The Political Economy of Inequality at the Top in Contemporary Chile

“…Using household surveys, Friedman and Hofman (2013) argue that the income share of the top 10 % actually began going down in 1990. Yet their study also shows the inconsistencies in measurements of income at the top and the difficulties to rely on household surveys to study the rich.…”

The rich, the affluent and the top incomes

“…Yet, tax records also show that the so-called 'working rich' -CEOs and other high-ranking executives, well-compensated professionals and self-employed workers, among other groups -are numerous in many countries. For example, labor income is the largest single factor component of the income of the richest 1% or so in France (Landais, 2008), Canada (Fortin et al, 2012), Colombia (Vélez, 2012: 23), Argentina (Alvaredo, 2010), Brazil (Medeiros, 2005), Indonesia (Leigh and Van der Eng, 2009), the USA (Feenberg and Poterba, 2000;Parker et al, 2010;Piketty and Saez, 2013;Wolff, 2000) and Chile (Friedman and Hofman, 2013;Sanhueza and Mayer, 2011). Nevertheless, there is some controversy about this claim when a broader definition of income is used, at least in the USA where capital income becomes roughly as important as labor income (Wolff and Zacharias, 2009), or when the concept of 'labor' excludes self-employment, as in Germany (Bach et al, 2009).…”

The Rich, the Affluent and the Top Incomes: A Literature Review

“…Yet, evidence of top compensated employees, high earning self-employed workers and similar types of professionals -, the so called working rich -is quite abundant not only in survey data but also when tax records are used. For example, labor income is the largest isolated factor component of the incomes of the richer 1% or so in France (Landais, 2008), Canada (Fortin et al, 2012), Colombia (Vélez, 2012, p. 23), Argentina (Alvaredo, 2010), Brazil (Medeiros, 2005), Indonesia (Leigh & Van der Eng, 2009), the USA (Feenberg & Poterba, 2000;Parker, Vissing-Jorgensen, Blank, & Hurst, 2010;Wolff, 2000) and apparently in Chile (Friedman & Hofman, 2013;Sanhueza & Mayer, 2011), but with some controversy about this composition when a broader definition of income is used, at least in the USA (Wolff & Zacharias, 2009) or when the concept of 'labor' excludes selfemployment, as in Germany (Bach et al, 2009).…”