PhD candidate in at UW-Madison with an interest in statistics and social class

Posts by Collection

portfolio

publications

research

The Contribution of Capital to US Income Inequality, 1980 – 2016

Published:

Income inequality in the United States rose substantially in the three and a half decades following 1980. Most sociological analyses of this phenomenon posit, implicitly or explicitly, that inequality is a function of differences in individuals’ labor-market characteristics, such as their level of education or their exposure to occupational closure. If this were true, labor income would be an important statistical contributor to inequality. However, the present paper demonstrates, using rich tax data, that most income inequality is instead driven by capital income, i.e., income received from the ownership of assets. Therefore, the unequal distribution of capital-ownership is instead the core inequality-generating mechanism. This study also provides a theoretical resolution to a puzzle posed by past analyses which stress the role of ownership relations. Eschewing the static class maps of those traditions, into which individuals fit poorly, it instead conceptualizes individuals as split into the roles of capital-owner and worker.

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Job market research statement

This file is my general research statement, written at a fairly high level of abstraction; this is part of my job market file. The first two chapters of my dissertation are out for review at the American Journal of Sociology and The Journal of Economic Inequality, respectively.

talks

The Contribution of Capital to US Income Inequality, 1980 – 2016

Published:

Income inequality in the United States rose substantially in the three and a half decades following 1980. Most sociological analyses of this phenomenon posit, implicitly or explicitly, that inequality is a function of differences in individuals’ labor-market characteristics, such as their level of education or their exposure to occupational closure. If this were true, labor income would be an important statistical contributor to inequality. However, the present paper demonstrates, using rich tax data, that most income inequality is instead driven by capital income, i.e., income received from the ownership of assets. Therefore, the unequal distribution of capital-ownership is instead the core inequality-generating mechanism. This study also provides a theoretical resolution to a puzzle posed by past analyses which stress the role of ownership relations. Eschewing the static class maps of those traditions, into which individuals fit poorly, it instead conceptualizes individuals as split into the roles of capital-owner and worker.

The Contribution of Capital to US Income Inequality, 1980 – 2016

Published:

Income inequality in the United States rose substantially in the three and a half decades following 1980. Most sociological analyses of this phenomenon posit, implicitly or explicitly, that inequality is a function of differences in individuals’ labor-market characteristics, such as their level of education or their exposure to occupational closure. If this were true, labor income would be an important statistical contributor to inequality. However, the present paper demonstrates, using rich tax data, that most income inequality is instead driven by capital income, i.e., income received from the ownership of assets. Therefore, the unequal distribution of capital-ownership is instead the core inequality-generating mechanism. This study also provides a theoretical resolution to a puzzle posed by past analyses which stress the role of ownership relations. Eschewing the static class maps of those traditions, into which individuals fit poorly, it instead conceptualizes individuals as split into the roles of capital-owner and worker.

The Effects of Competing Definitions of Income on Trends in U.S. Income Inequality

Published:

Income is an important indicator of a person’s quality of life and a critical variable in social science research. However, little such research makes explicit and justifies its definition of income, and many social scientific results might change if the definition of income were to change. This article makes two contributions to this unresolved situation. First, it demonstrates the empirical consequences of using various income definitions which expand the concept beyond the default wages-only model, reviewing the conceptual costs and benefits along the way. It does so with respect to one particularly important topic, trends in U.S. income inequality, finding that the use of most possible income definitions which go beyond the wages-only model result in increased inequality trends. Second, the paper highlights significant inconsistencies in two important expanded definitions of income and recommends its own definition: compensation for market activity, net of the costs of producing it.

teaching

Teaching experience

Undergraduate courses, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sociology Department, 2024

I’ve taught many courses as a graduate student, lecturing statistical and general-methodological courses (and TAing for several substantial sociological courses in political economy and demography). I generally get quite good reviews; you can see the public ones here (archived 2024-02-22). Below is some of the large volume of original material I’ve produced for for those courses.

Job market teaching statement

Undergraduate courses, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sociology Department, 1900

This file is my general teaching statement, written at a fairly high level of abstraction; this is part of my job market file. The post directly below this one contains a more detailed description of my teaching portfolio.