'A Power Theory of Personal Income Distribution', Public Lecture by Blair Fix
October 17, 2017
Due in no small part to the work of Thomas Piketty, the empirical
study of income inequality has flourished in the last decade. But this
plethora of new data has not led to a corresponding theoretical
revolution. Why? The problem, I believe, is an unwillingness to question
and test the basic assumptions on which current theory rests. Most
theories of personal income distribution are deeply wedded to the
assumption that income is proportional to productivity. However, this
approach has a simple, but little discussed problem: income is
distributed far more unequally than documented differentials in human
labor productivity. But if not productivity, then what explains income? I
propose that income is explained most strongly by social power, as
manifested by one’s rank in an institutional hierarchy. Using a novel
array of evidence, I show (for the first time) that there is a strong
quantitative relation between income and hierarchical power. Moreover, I
show that hierarchical power affects income more strongly than any
other factor. I conclude that this is evidence for a power theory of
personal income distribution.
Refreshment will be served and everyone is welcome.
WHERE: Verney Room, South 674 Ross Building, Keele Campus, York University
WHEN: 2:30 – 5:30 pm, Tuesday, 17 October 2017
More details can found here.
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