Economic inequality is the unequal distribution of income and wealth and it has been rising in the United States in recent decades. Questions about whether and how this rise in inequality affects economic growth and stability are fundamental to Equitable Growth’s work, which explores how economic inequality impacts individuals and families across a wide range of issues, and what policies might address these challenges.
Featured work
Analyzing recent U.S. economic policies using Equitable Growth’s Inequality Tracker
January 22, 2026
January 22, 2026
In conversation with Sabeel Rahman
November 18, 2025
November 18, 2025
Accounting for capital gains in income significantly increases U.S. inequality
July 15, 2025
July 15, 2025
Americans informed about the distributional effects of Republicans’ tax and budget bill overwhelmingly oppose it
July 3, 2025
July 3, 2025
U.S. income and wealth inequality are no longer increasing, but a return to the equitable levels of the mid-20th century isn’t likely anytime soon
January 17, 2023
January 17, 2023
Six charts that explain how inequality in the United States changed over the past 20 years
February 1, 2022
February 1, 2022
Explore Content in Economic Inequality821
How corporate governance strategies hurt worker power in the United States
September 6, 2022
September 6, 2022
Equitable Growth’s 2022 grantees will study the drivers and effects of U.S. economic inequality
August 30, 2022
August 30, 2022
The Self-Taught Economy: Open Access and Inclusion in the Tech Industry
August 29, 2022
August 29, 2022
The Impact of Natural Disasters on Firm and Labor Dynamics
August 29, 2022
August 29, 2022
Inequality in Health Returns to Local Labor Markets: Extraction Booms and Mortality among Native Americans
August 29, 2022
August 29, 2022
Why the Inflation Reduction Act is key to strong, broad-based U.S. economic growth
August 16, 2022
August 16, 2022
American Sociological Association 2022 conference highlights inequities among vulnerable U.S. populations
August 12, 2022
August 12, 2022
Factsheet: Is the U.S. economy in a recession, and how does recession dating work?
August 10, 2022
August 10, 2022
The economic evidence behind the Inflation Reduction Act and why it will boost strong, broad-based economic growth
August 5, 2022
August 5, 2022
The inequitable consequences of ‘heat islands’ within the metropolitan areas of the United States and what to do about it
August 3, 2022
August 3, 2022
NBER Summer Institute 2022 Round-up: Week 3
August 1, 2022
August 1, 2022
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