Changes in collective bargaining coverage and income inequality, 1979–2009
Note: The higher the Gini coefficient, the higher the inequality.
Figure E. Changes in collective bargaining coverage and income inequality, 1979–2009. Income inequality in this scatterplot is measured by the Gini coefficient (where a coefficient closer to 1 represents greater inequality). The Gini coefficient data are from Colin Gordon’s analysis of Census Bureau data at http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-2.pdf for the year 2009 and from Current Population Survey Historical Income Tables for States, Table S-4, “Gini Ratios by State,” at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/state/state4.html for the year 1979. Collective bargaining coverage data are from www.unionstats.com, produced by Barry T. Hirsch and David A. Macpherson.
Source: Gordon (2012) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau (2010), Hirsch and Macpherson (2003), and updates from the Union Membership and Coverage Database
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