미국사회에서의 가족소득 불평등 확대 요인

Abstract

Since the mid 1970s, both family income and mens earnings have became more unequal. In this study, I attempt to find an explanation of the growing inequality focusing on family income. I apply a pooled cross-section time-series regression model using the Current Population Survey for the period of 1977 through 1991. The search for the determinants of growing inequality proceeds in two stages. In the first stage, aggregate inequality measured by the Gini inequality index is used as the dependent variable in the regression model. In the second stage, the share of each of the three income c1asses(lower, middle, and upper class) is used as the dependent. This class-based analysis reveals what factor has a significant effect in which part of the income distribution.

The factors included in this analysis are human capital variables, industrial shifts, labor force status, labor markets dualism, family structure, social welfare payments, female labor force participation, demographic characteristics, macro-economic conditions, and ecological characteristics of a region. I observed that the income effect of the expansion of service sector varies among various sub-fields of service sector. The decline of manufacturing sector decreases the share of middle class significantly as Deindustrialization thesis argues. But this study also gives a partial support to the opposing theory, Post-Industrial society thesis. Service sector growth increases the share of upper class. This study confirms that the growth of single mother family and retirement-age people has a detrimental effect of substantial size on the income distribution. The growth of female labor force participation does not have equalizing effect as predicted in previous studies, which enables us to suspect a new trend in the growth of female labor force participation since the late 1970s. Considering all the factors together, I conclude that family income inequality is more likely to increase in the future.