Changes in Income Inequality within U.S. Metropolitan Areas Janice F. Madden First Chapter | Table of Contents 201 pp. 2000 $40.00 cloth 978-0-88099-204-6 $15.00 paper 978-0-88099-203-9 What if one were to use metropolitan statistical area (MSA) data instead of nationwide data to study income redistribution? Might this reveal that certain regions or MSAs within regions are "hot beds" of income inequality? Can patterns of income inequality be discerned within MSAs, e.g., between central cities and suburbs? If so, what local characteristics influence income inequality? Janice F. Madden tackles these questions by studying MSA data that link the characteristics of metropolitan economies to significant changes in income inequality. This allows her to study changes in poverty rates, household income inequality, and wage inequality within 182 of the largest MSAs and to identify what she says are the three factors most likely to influence changes in income inequality in metropolitan areas. "[This book] represents an important contribution to the inequality literature. The impressive data set along with the careful and comprehensive analysis allows the author to uncover new and interesting results. The book is useful for those interested in these issues and it will serve as a benchmark for those researching the subsequent changes for the 1990s and beyond. Practitioners would also benefit due to its completeness and engaging presentation." –Growth and Change "Madden's monograph is a valuable contribution to the micro literature on income inequality and poverty. When combined with recent macro studies of income inequality, a much clearer understanding of the determinants and implications of income inequality and poverty starts to emerge." –Southern Economic Journal "This is a very useful book for researchers in the area of income distribution since it contains an excellent review of the empirical literature and contains a broad although non-theoretical discussion of measures and theories of inequality. The empirical findings are numerous and many of them should be of great relevance to policy aimed at reducing inequality. Yet even seasoned researchers will see for themselves and their students many questions that are raised in several of Madden's findings which beg for further investigation." –Urban Studies |