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An empirical investigation of the impact of corporate power on the distribution of personal income
Abstract
Since 1973, the gap between the highest and lowest income receiving families has widened. Economists have offered many explanations for this phenomenon, some at the microeconomic level, others from a macroeconomic perspective. This dissertation examines changes in the distribution of personal income within a macroeconomic framework, building upon an existing model that relates income distribution to the macroeconomic fluctuations of unemployment and inflation. One explanation suggested in the literature for the increase in income inequality is the growth and exercise of corporate power. This dissertation reviews and builds upon existing work that details the development and effects of corporate power. Specifically, this dissertation establishes theoretical and anecdotal links between growing corporate power and growing income inequality. The literature on corporate power, while persuasive and insightful, fails to measure the phenomenon adequately. One objective of this dissertation is to provide quantification of corporate power. The development of a comprehensive measure of corporate power will enhance our ability to test empirically hypotheses about the impact of corporate power on other economic variables. Finally, this dissertation tests empirically the hypothesis that increases in corporate power have contributed to growing income inequality. A newly developed corporate power index is integrated into an existing macroeconomic model of income distribution. The regression results lend support to the hypothesis that increases in corporate power, as measured by the corporate power index, lead to greater income inequality.
Subject Area
Business costs|Economic history|Business community|Labor economics
Recommended Citation
Grant, Randy Rudolph, "An empirical investigation of the impact of corporate power on the distribution of personal income" (1996). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9637068.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9637068