California's Rising Income Inequality: Causes and Concerns Book

In an earlier title, The Distribution of Income in California, Deborah Reed, Melissa Glenn Haber, and Laura Mameesh show that income inequality has risen sharply in California over the past two decades and that it has risen faster in California than in the nation as a whole. The growing gap between the rich and the poor in California results not only from rising income among the well-off but also from a precipitous decline in income among those in the mid-to-lowest levels of the income distribution. In this follow-up study, Deborah Reed examines a number of possible explanations for the growing divergence in earnings among male workers in California. Given the trends and causes she identifies in this study, it is likely that California will continue to experience substantial income inequality. However, Reed suggests several policy considerations that might help mitigate the situation.