Jenseits der schrillen Töne. Elemente für eine rationale Diskussion über die Ungleichheit von Einkommen und Vermögen in Deutschland
Lars P. Feld and Christoph M. Schmidt take stock of the distribution of income and wealth in Germany. Income inequality increased until 2005 along with the deterioration of the labor market. Since 2005 inequality has not increased further, by some measures it has even declined. In both phases, the system of taxation and benefits has redistributed income to a considerable extent. The wealth distribution appears to be much more unequal, but the data are heavily biased, in particular because public pension systems are not taken into account. An analysis of intergenerational social mobility shows that this is where political action is most strongly needed.
Feld, L. and C. Schmidt (2016), Jenseits der schrillen Töne. Elemente für eine rationale Diskussion über die Ungleichheit von Einkommen und Vermögen in Deutschland. Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, 17, 2, 188-205