During the 1990s, the richest quintile of a country had an average income per capita approximately ten times that of the poorest quintile. We find that the poor of a country are better off relatively, and absolutely, when the country ranks higher in average income, union participation, taxation,...

Annual income/capita varies across countries of the world by a factor of almost 100. Past literature has often associated income with culture, geography, history, and religion, but these cannot be easily changed. We seek to uncover mutable determinants of income. There is good news. More than...