2020/09/02 by Olle Hammar, Daniel Waldenström · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Computer Science · #Income, Poverty, and Inequality #Corruption and Economic Development #Economic Growth and Development
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/ej/ueaa109
openalex publication_date 2020/09/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Abstract We estimate trends in global earnings dispersion across occupational groups by constructing a new database that covers 68 developed and developing countries between 1970 and 2018. Our main finding is that global earnings inequality has fallen, primarily during the 2000s and 2010s, when the global Gini coefficient dropped by 15 points and the earnings share of the world's poorest half doubled. Decomposition analyses show earnings convergence between countries and within occupations, while within-country earnings inequality has increased. Moreover, the falling global inequality trend was driven mainly by real wage growth, rather than changes in hours worked, taxes or occupational employment.