Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “…a very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “Unintended Consequences should be read by anyone who takes for granted the superiority of progressive taxation and has not thought carefully about the trade-offs involved.” - The New Republic
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. US households in every income tier had higher inflation-adjusted incomes in 2022 than in 1970, with median income rising 55% for lower-income households, 60% for middle-class households, and 78% for upper-income households. The gap widened: upper-income median income was 7.3x that of lower-income households, up from 6.3x.

Rakesh Kochhar Pew Research Center
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Between 1970 and 2022 median middle-income US households saw real income growth of 60%. Low-income households saw a 55% increase, excluding non-cash government transfers. @pewresearch

Have incomes risen across all tiers while income gaps widened?

Core argument: Median income of middle-class U.S. households rose 60%, from about $66,400 in 1970 to $106,100 in 2022, in inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars scaled to a three-person household.

Households in all income tiers had much higher incomes in 2022 than in 1970, after adjusting for inflation. Gains for middle- and lower-income households were less than the gains for upper-income households. The median income of middle-class households increased from about $66,400 in 1970 to $106,100 in 2022, or 60%. Over this period, the median income of upper-income households increased 78%, from about $144,100 to $256,900. (Incomes are scaled to a three-person household and expressed in 2023 dollars.) The median income of lower income households grew more slowly than that of other households, increasing from about $22,800 in 1970 to $35,300 in 2022, or 55%. Consequently, there is now a larger gap between the incomes of upper-income households and other households. In 2022, the median income of upper income households was 7.3 times that of lower-income households, up from 6.3 in 1970. It was 2.4 times the median income of middle income households in 2022, up from 2.2 in 1970.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Median income of middle-class U.S. households rose 60%, from about $66,400 in 1970 to $106,100 in 2022, in inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars scaled to a three-person household.
  2. Median income of upper-income households grew 78%, from about $144,100 to $256,900, between 1970 and 2022, while that of lower-income households grew 55%, from about $22,800 to $35,300.
  3. The median income of upper-income households was 7.3 times that of lower-income households in 2022, up from 6.3 in 1970, and 2.4 times that of middle-income households, up from 2.2.

Related Articles:

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  • Upward Mobility Is Alive and Well in America — Comparing children's adult incomes with the inflation-adjusted income quintiles of their childhood rather than contemporaneous quintiles produces much higher measured upward mobility: only 28% of children raised in the bottom quintile remained below that childhood threshold as adults, while 26% reached the top childhood quintile, which required $111,416 (2016 dollars) for a family of four.
  • Intergenerational Mobility in American History: Accounting for Race and Measurement Error — Accounting for Black families, who historical studies routinely drop, and for measurement error in fathers' economic status can double estimates of intergenerational persistence in linked United States census data from 1850 to 1940. The author argues historical mobility was lower than previously estimated, implying greater equality of opportunity today than in the past.
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