Ajit Zacharias - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ajit Zacharias

Challenge, 2007

... EDWARD WOLFF is a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and profes-s... more ... EDWARD WOLFF is a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and profes-sor at New York University. AJIT ZACHARIAS is a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. ... Economic Well-Being Edward Wolff and Ajit Zacharias ...

Ssrn Electronic Journal, 2000

Ssrn Electronic Journal, 2002

We analyze the level and distribution of economic well-being in the United States during the 1980... more We analyze the level and distribution of economic well-being in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s based on the standard measure of money income and a measure in which income from wealth is calculated as the sum of lifetime annuity from nonhome wealth and imputed rental-equivalent for owner-occupied homes. Over the 1982-2000 period, median well-being increases faster when these adjustments are made than when standard money income is used. This adjustment also widens the income gap between African-Americans and whites but increases the relative well-being of the elderly. Adding imputed rent and annuities from household wealth to household income considerably increases measured inequality and the share of income from wealth in inequality. However, both measures show about the same rise in inequality over the period. We also find an increasing share of wage and salary income in our expanded definition of income among the richest one percent over the period but do not find tha...

Journal of Income Distribution

We examine the economic well-being of the elderly, using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic W... more We examine the economic well-being of the elderly, using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW). LIMEW is a comprehensive measure that incorporates broader definitions of income from wealth, government expenditures, and taxes than standard income, and also includes the value of household production. We find that the elderly are much better off relative to the nonelderly according to LIMEW than according to money income or the Census Bureau’s “extended income” (EI) concept. The main reason is the much higher income from wealth and net government expenditures for the elderly than the nonelderly. Both mean and median LIMEW also grew much faster for the elderly than the non-elderly over the 1989-2001 period. In contrast, growth rates of money income were actually greater for the non-elderly than the elderly over this period. We also find that the degree of inequality in the LIMEW is substantially higher among the elderly than among the nonelderly. In contrast, inequal...

Over the last three decades the extent to which governments have built and maintained an institut... more Over the last three decades the extent to which governments have built and maintained an institutional stru c t u re and spent on the social safety net— together generally re f e rred to as the welfare state—has become one of the most contentious areas of public policy debate. Members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development—countries with institutional stru c t u res as diverse as those of the United States and Sweden—have rolled back the w e l f a re state, basing their actions in part on a rationale off e red by mainstream economists: because the welfare state produces a drag on economic activity and reduces economic perf o rmance, cutbacks are necessary in order to raise economic growth and lower unemployment or, in the case of the United States, to maintain high future

edward n. wolff, ajit zacharias, and asena caner This document is available on the Levy Institute... more edward n. wolff, ajit zacharias, and asena caner This document is available on the Levy Institute website at www.levy.org. edward n. wolff is a senior scholar at The Levy Economics Institute and a professor of economics at New York University. ajit zacharias and asena caner are research scholars at The Levy Economics Institute. Copyright © 2004 The Levy Economics InstituteThe Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is an autonomous research organization. It is nonpartisan, open to the examination of diverse points of view, and dedicated to public service. The Institute is publishing this research with the conviction that it is a constructive and positive contribution to discussions and debates on relevant policy issues. Neither the Institute’s Board of Governors nor its advisers necessarily endorse any proposal made by the authors. The Institute believes in the potential for the study of economics to improve the human condition. Through scholarship and research it...

Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ... more Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ideas to and elicit comments from academics and professionals. The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independently funded research organization devoted to public service. Through scholarship and economic research it generates viable, effective public policy responses to important economic problems that profoundly affect the quality of life in the United States and abroad.

Acknowledgments: Our primary debt is to Hyunsub Kum who implemented the statistical matching algo... more Acknowledgments: Our primary debt is to Hyunsub Kum who implemented the statistical matching algorithms used in creating the synthetic dataset used in this study. We are grateful for comments from Stephan Klasen and Michael Zweig. We have also benefited from discussions about our paper with participants in the conferences of the Working Class Studies Association, Eastern Economic Association, Allied Social Science Association and International Association for Research on Income and Wealth. We alone are responsible for any errors and omissions. The Levy Economics Institute Working Paper Collection presents research in progress by Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ideas to and elicit comments from academics and professionals. The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independently funded research organization devoted to public service. Through scholarship and economic resea...

An International Comparison on Income Distribution, 2012

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

The idea that saving is the force driving private investment and economic growth has become ever ... more The idea that saving is the force driving private investment and economic growth has become ever more entrenched in mainstream economic thought as well as in the minds of policymakers and the general public. Even though the empirical evidence that increased household saving will directly stimulate private investment and economic growth is scant, the idea remains prominent and underlies policy debates on topics ranging from Social Security to a balanced federal budget to reducing the national debt. The popular theory underlying these cuts is countered with evidence that private sector investment is financed primarily out of business retained earnings, not household saving, which explains why current policies aimed at raising household saving via cuts to social spending programs have been unsuccessful at raising saving rates. Moreover, government spending on social programs does not necessarily reduce economic growth. Higher government spending could be supported, and a greater degree...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a ... more In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a preliminary assessment of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a package of transfers and tax cuts that is expected to provide relief to low-income and vulnerable households especially hurt by the economic crisis, while at the same time supporting aggregate demand. By the

Challenge, 2007

... EDWARD WOLFF is a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and profes-s... more ... EDWARD WOLFF is a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and profes-sor at New York University. AJIT ZACHARIAS is a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. ... Economic Well-Being Edward Wolff and Ajit Zacharias ...

Ssrn Electronic Journal, 2000

Ssrn Electronic Journal, 2002

We analyze the level and distribution of economic well-being in the United States during the 1980... more We analyze the level and distribution of economic well-being in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s based on the standard measure of money income and a measure in which income from wealth is calculated as the sum of lifetime annuity from nonhome wealth and imputed rental-equivalent for owner-occupied homes. Over the 1982-2000 period, median well-being increases faster when these adjustments are made than when standard money income is used. This adjustment also widens the income gap between African-Americans and whites but increases the relative well-being of the elderly. Adding imputed rent and annuities from household wealth to household income considerably increases measured inequality and the share of income from wealth in inequality. However, both measures show about the same rise in inequality over the period. We also find an increasing share of wage and salary income in our expanded definition of income among the richest one percent over the period but do not find tha...

Journal of Income Distribution

We examine the economic well-being of the elderly, using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic W... more We examine the economic well-being of the elderly, using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW). LIMEW is a comprehensive measure that incorporates broader definitions of income from wealth, government expenditures, and taxes than standard income, and also includes the value of household production. We find that the elderly are much better off relative to the nonelderly according to LIMEW than according to money income or the Census Bureau’s “extended income” (EI) concept. The main reason is the much higher income from wealth and net government expenditures for the elderly than the nonelderly. Both mean and median LIMEW also grew much faster for the elderly than the non-elderly over the 1989-2001 period. In contrast, growth rates of money income were actually greater for the non-elderly than the elderly over this period. We also find that the degree of inequality in the LIMEW is substantially higher among the elderly than among the nonelderly. In contrast, inequal...

Over the last three decades the extent to which governments have built and maintained an institut... more Over the last three decades the extent to which governments have built and maintained an institutional stru c t u re and spent on the social safety net— together generally re f e rred to as the welfare state—has become one of the most contentious areas of public policy debate. Members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development—countries with institutional stru c t u res as diverse as those of the United States and Sweden—have rolled back the w e l f a re state, basing their actions in part on a rationale off e red by mainstream economists: because the welfare state produces a drag on economic activity and reduces economic perf o rmance, cutbacks are necessary in order to raise economic growth and lower unemployment or, in the case of the United States, to maintain high future

edward n. wolff, ajit zacharias, and asena caner This document is available on the Levy Institute... more edward n. wolff, ajit zacharias, and asena caner This document is available on the Levy Institute website at www.levy.org. edward n. wolff is a senior scholar at The Levy Economics Institute and a professor of economics at New York University. ajit zacharias and asena caner are research scholars at The Levy Economics Institute. Copyright © 2004 The Levy Economics InstituteThe Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is an autonomous research organization. It is nonpartisan, open to the examination of diverse points of view, and dedicated to public service. The Institute is publishing this research with the conviction that it is a constructive and positive contribution to discussions and debates on relevant policy issues. Neither the Institute’s Board of Governors nor its advisers necessarily endorse any proposal made by the authors. The Institute believes in the potential for the study of economics to improve the human condition. Through scholarship and research it...

Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ... more Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ideas to and elicit comments from academics and professionals. The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independently funded research organization devoted to public service. Through scholarship and economic research it generates viable, effective public policy responses to important economic problems that profoundly affect the quality of life in the United States and abroad.

Acknowledgments: Our primary debt is to Hyunsub Kum who implemented the statistical matching algo... more Acknowledgments: Our primary debt is to Hyunsub Kum who implemented the statistical matching algorithms used in creating the synthetic dataset used in this study. We are grateful for comments from Stephan Klasen and Michael Zweig. We have also benefited from discussions about our paper with participants in the conferences of the Working Class Studies Association, Eastern Economic Association, Allied Social Science Association and International Association for Research on Income and Wealth. We alone are responsible for any errors and omissions. The Levy Economics Institute Working Paper Collection presents research in progress by Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ideas to and elicit comments from academics and professionals. The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independently funded research organization devoted to public service. Through scholarship and economic resea...

An International Comparison on Income Distribution, 2012

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

The idea that saving is the force driving private investment and economic growth has become ever ... more The idea that saving is the force driving private investment and economic growth has become ever more entrenched in mainstream economic thought as well as in the minds of policymakers and the general public. Even though the empirical evidence that increased household saving will directly stimulate private investment and economic growth is scant, the idea remains prominent and underlies policy debates on topics ranging from Social Security to a balanced federal budget to reducing the national debt. The popular theory underlying these cuts is countered with evidence that private sector investment is financed primarily out of business retained earnings, not household saving, which explains why current policies aimed at raising household saving via cuts to social spending programs have been unsuccessful at raising saving rates. Moreover, government spending on social programs does not necessarily reduce economic growth. Higher government spending could be supported, and a greater degree...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a ... more In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a preliminary assessment of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a package of transfers and tax cuts that is expected to provide relief to low-income and vulnerable households especially hurt by the economic crisis, while at the same time supporting aggregate demand. By the