scholarly journals The Evolution of Household Income Volatility

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. Dynan ◽  
Douglas W. Elmendorf ◽  
Daniel E. Sichel
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Income Volatility

scholarly journals Remittances and Income Smoothing

2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 582-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes ◽  
Susan Pozo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Borrowing Constraints ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Income Volatility ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Main Motive

Due to inadequate savings and binding borrowing constraints, income volatility can make households in developing countries particularly susceptible to economic hardship. We examine the role of remittances in either alleviating or increasing household income volatility using Mexican household level data over the 2000 through 2008 period. We correct for reverse causality and endogeneity and find that while income smoothing does not appear to be the main motive for sending remittances in a non-negligible share of households, remittances do indeed smooth household income on average. Other variables surrounding income volatility are also considered and evaluated.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Household Income Volatility

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Dynan ◽  
Douglas Elmendorf ◽  
Daniel Sichel
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Income Volatility ◽  
Transfer Payments ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Labor Earnings ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Using a representative longitudinal survey of U.S. households, we find that household income became noticeably more volatile between the early 1970s and the late 2000s despite the moderation seen in aggregate economic activity during this period. We estimate that the standard deviation of percent changes in household income rose about 30 percent between 1971 and 2008. This widening in the distribution of percent changes was concentrated in the tails. The share of households experiencing a 50 percent plunge in income over a two-year period climbed from about 7 percent in the early 1970s to more than 12 percent in the early 2000s before retreating to 10 percent in the run-up to the Great Recession. Households’ labor earnings and transfer payments have both become more volatile over time. As best we can tell, the rise in the volatility of men’s earnings appears to owe both to greater volatility in earnings per hour and in hours worked.

An Inquiry into Remittances and Income Smoothing

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-289
Author(s):  
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes ◽  
Susan Pozo
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Household Size ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Income Volatility ◽  
Substantial Fraction ◽  
Elderly Household ◽  
Household Members

AbstractWhile we uncover evidence that remittances smooth household income, for a substantial fraction of household we find that remittance instead increase income volatility. We also explore the determinants of income volatility for all households. We find that in some cases, the determinants of household income volatility are the same for remittance-receiving and non-remittance receiving households, as for example with respect to the number of young children in the household, the educational attainment of household members and the location of the household. In other cases, determinants like the gender of the household head, the number of elderly household members and household size impact remittance-receiving and non-remittance receiving households differently.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Household Income Volatility

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Sichel ◽  
Karen E. Dynan ◽  
Douglas W. Elmendorf
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Income Volatility

scholarly journals The Evolution of Household Income Volatility

2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 (61) ◽  
pp. 1-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. Dynan ◽  
◽  
Douglas W. Elmendorf ◽  
Daniel E. Sichel
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Income Volatility

scholarly journals Income Volatility and the PSID: Past Research and New Results

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 277-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Moffitt ◽  
Sisi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
Income Volatility ◽  
Earnings Volatility ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Volatility Model ◽  
Large Jump

The PSID has major advantages for studying income volatility and, because of this, research using it has been responsible for major improvements in the methodology of studying income volatility. Its research on calendar trends finds a reasonably consistent pattern for phased but rising male earnings volatility since 1970. Female earnings volatility has declined and household income volatility has risen. Some other datasets find similar patterns but others do not, suggesting the need for more research. A new earnings volatility model is estimated on PSID men through 2014, showing similar patterns but with a large jump during the Great Recession.

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