Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Economic Inequality, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
This study explores the effect of capital share on income inequality over the past four decades across 56 countries. We provide the first cross-country framework that measures this link with consistency between theory and data, and captures its heterogeneity across countries and over time. Capital shares are calculated from national accounts, and top income shares are taken from the World Inequality Database, constructed using the Distributional National Accounts methodology to ensure consistent definitions. Building on a simple accounting identity, we estimate the transmission coefficient—the effect of the capital share on inequality—allowing it to vary across countries and time. A one percentage point (pp) rise in the capital share increases the income share of the top 5% by 0.17 pp on average. Advanced economies show a stable transmission coefficient over time with rising capital and labor income inequality, while emerging economies exhibit an increasing coefficient alongside growing capital income inequality. A third group displays a declining coefficient with rising labor income inequality. Changes in the capital share explain roughly 50% of the increase in income inequality over the last four decades, underscoring its pivotal role.