Visualizing Economics » Bureau of Economic Analysis

How Much Do You Earn? (2000)

Catherine — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:58:31 +0000

A look at the relationship between occupation and income. From a poster I created in 2004.

{Click on the image to take a closer look}

Real Gross National Income per Person

Catherine — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:14:07 +0000

A NYT article about the .01 Percent had a quote from Warren Buffet that caught my attention: “‘This is a significantly richer country than 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago,’ he declared, backing his assertion with a favorite statistic. The national income, divided by the population, is a very abundant $45,000 per capita, he said, a number that reflects an affluent nation but also obscures the lopsided income distribution intertwined with the prosperity.” This graph was an attempt to visualize that statistic. (Keep in mind that the numbers are in 2000 US$)

{Click on the graph to take a closer look}

The US Gross National Income (GNI) represents the total buying power of citizens of the United States. This buying power can be transferred around the economy by taxation and lending. GNI includes Wages and Salaries + Rents + Interest + Profits (also includes Depreciation of Capital + Sales taxes – Subsidies). Since it is “National” it measures income from resources owned by the citizens of the United States, regardless where the production occurs. Gross national income is identical to gross national product (GNP).

The Real GNI data can be found at Bureau of Economic Analysis National Economic Accounts Table 1.7.6. Population data can be found at Census Historical Series and Census Current Estimates .

[tags]income distribution, US income distribution, United States GNI, National Income[/tags]

Share of GDP: 99th 95th 90th

Catherine — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 01:40:08 +0000

In my earlier post, I graphed the share of GDP going to the bottom 90% and top 10%. In this graph I am comparing the bottom 99th, 95th and 90th Income/GDP ratios (including capital gains). The same pattern appears: the decline in GDP share occurring in the 70s for each percentile.

Based on some comments on other graphs I posted I have added a few new items. First I am displaying recessions (via the gray bands) along with timeline of wars and presidential terms in order to provide some historical context. Second, I copied the data used in this graph into a Google spreadsheet which can be viewed by anyone with a Google Account.

{Click on the graph to take a closer look}

[tags]GDP, Income[/tags]

Income/GDP Ratio

Catherine — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 23:57:09 +0000

I created these graphs show the change in the share of GDP going to the top 10% as compared to the bottom 90% since 1929. I have two versions: one with capital gains and one without.

{Click on each graph to take a closer look}

You can see the sudden drop in the share going to the top 10% (the effect of WWII). Later the slow decline in the share going to the bottom 90% during the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

In 2004 you had to make around $95,000 to make the top 10%.

Data from the IRS found on Emmanuel Saez’s web site

[tags]income, GDP[/tags]