From the monthly archives:

November 2007

China: 2,000 Years of Income and Population Growth

by Catherine on November 30, 2007

in Country Growth from 1500, VE Infographics

This graph shows the dramatic change in China’s population and GDP per capita (especially in the last 200 years). Compare this to the graph of the World that I created earlier.

{Click on the image to take a closer look}

Data estimates for population and GDP per capita are from Angus Maddison Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Groningen. 1990 international Geary-Khamis dollars are purchasing power parities (PPPs) used to evaluate output which are calculated based on international prices. See United Nations Statistics Division for more information their computation.

[tags]income distribution, population, GDP per Capita, economic history, income, history, China[/tags]

Tagged as: Angus Maddison, Bubble Chart, China, CIA, GDP, GDP per Capita, Population, World

{ 1 comment }

Last 2,000 years of growth in world income and population (REVISED)

by Catherine on November 21, 2007

in Country Growth from 1500, VE Infographics

After posting a graph of world population and GDP per capita for the last 2 thousand years, I went back and simplified the design based on the feedback I received.

{Click on the image to take a closer look}

The previous version used color to show a change in GDP per capita and included grid lines which I removed. Also in the new graph, I added the United States GDP per Capita for select years as a comparison.

[tags]income distribution, population, GDP per Capita, economic history, income, history[/tags]

Tagged as: Angus Maddison, Bubble Chart, GDP, GDP per Capita, Population, United States, World

{ 7 comments }

Two Thousand Years of Growth: World Income & Population

by Catherine on November 11, 2007

in Country Growth from 1500, VE Infographics

Ever wonder what the last 2 thousand years of economic growth looked like? The graph below was created using estimates of world population and GDP per capita going back 2 thousand years. (The circle size and color change as GDP per capita increases.)

{Click on the image to take a closer look}

[tags]income distribution, population, GDP per Capita, economic history[/tags]

Tagged as: Angus Maddison, Bubble Chart, GDP, GDP per Capita, Population, World

{ 3 comments }

Has Middle America’s Wages Stagnated?

by Catherine on November 4, 2007

in Growth of Income Inequality, VE Infographics

{Click on the image to take a closer look}

I found a Federal Reserve article that analyzed the change in Average Hourly Earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers. After adjusting for inflation using the Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) {instead of the Consumer Price Index-Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)} and including an estimate for worker’s benefits, the author concluded that workers’ hourly earnings (wages plus benefits) actually increased by 16% over 30 years (1975-2005) rather than decreased. Here, I graphed the full history, 1964-2006, but used the approach laid out in the article to show the effect of inflation and benefits. BTW, if you earned $16.76 an hour in 2006 that gave you an annual income of $33,520 (assuming you worked full-time).

[tags]income distribution, income inequality, Federal Reserve, wages, middle class[/tags]

Addendum: This was past on to me from a reader who found it on Marginal Revolution

Tagged as: BEA, Consumption, CPI, Federal Reserve, Income - Middle, Inflation, IRS, Line Graph, United States, Wages

{ 5 comments }

Historical Tax Rates by Income Group [NYTimes]

by Catherine on November 3, 2007

in Comparing Tax Rates by Income

A recent NY Times article included a graph showing the amount of taxes paid to the federal government based on income groups. While I like the graph it does not explain what the income thresholds are for each income group. However, I was able to pull out of the original journal article that the average income for the highest earning 0.01% was $18,113,612.

taxes