February, 2007

It’s Time to Ask the Next Question

by Mark A. Thoma
The Conversation
February 20th, 2007

I had hoped to move on to new issues, but that will have to wait as I want to respond to some of what Alan Reynolds says in his reply essay. In his reply, Reynolds provides a very good example of what Gary Burtless points to when he says: The problem is, he is strongly [...]

Read: It’s Time to Ask the Next Question

Inequality Trends: The Facts and Why They Matter

by Gary Burtless
The Conversation
February 20th, 2007

Alan Reynolds wants to disprove the widely accepted view that American income inequality widened after 1988. In his attempt to make this case he offers some evidence that is relevant, much more that is irrelevant, and still more that cannot be evaluated without careful and open-minded analysis of the data. Unlike many of the analysts he criticizes, including economists in the Congressional Budget Office and Professors Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, he has never actually done any of the hard analysis that would allow us to assess the importance of claimed shortcomings in the data. I leave it for other readers to decide whether Reynolds has the temperament to treat good researchers’ analysis and results with an open mind, especially when their findings conflict with his fond hope that income inequality stopped rising almost two decades ago.

Read: Inequality Trends: The Facts and Why They Matter