Temporal evolution of the "thermal" and "superthermal" income classes in the USA during 1983-2001
| dc.creator | Silva, A. Christian | |
| dc.creator | Yakovenko, Victor M. | |
| dc.date | 2004-06-17 | |
| dc.date | 2004-10-31 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T12:06:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T12:06:58Z | |
| dc.description | Personal income distribution in the USA has a well-defined two-class structure. The majority of population (97-99%) belongs to the lower class characterized by the exponential Boltzmann-Gibbs ("thermal") distribution, whereas the upper class (1-3% of population) has a Pareto power-law ("superthermal") distribution. By analyzing income data for 1983-2001, we show that the "thermal" part is stationary in time, save for a gradual increase of the effective temperature, whereas the "superthermal" tail swells and shrinks following the stock market. We discuss the concept of equilibrium inequality in a society, based on the principle of maximal entropy, and quantitatively show that it applies to the majority of population. | |
| dc.description | v.3: 7 pages, 5 figures, EPL style, more references added | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0406385 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0406385 | |
| dc.identifier | Europhys. Lett., 69 (2), pp. 304-310 (2005) | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.1209/epl/i2004-10330-3 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/208813 | |
| dc.subject | Other Condensed Matter | |
| dc.subject | General Finance | |
| dc.title | Temporal evolution of the "thermal" and "superthermal" income classes in the USA during 1983-2001 | |
| dc.type | text |