Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
美国经济状况调查转移支付：事实与参数估计
Means-Tested Transfers in the U.S.: Facts and Parametric Estimates
摘要
How large and important are means-tested transfers to working-age households in the United States? Using microdata from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we document that a substantial share of households, more than one-third of them, receive transfers in a given year. Conditional on receipt, transfers average about $17,000 in 2016 dollars, exceeding one-fifth of mean household income. For households with no income, total conditional transfers amount to $26,500, nearly one-third of the mean household income. Transfers decline sharply with income but remain surprisingly widespread even in the middle and upper portions of the distribution. The system substantially compresses inequality, and its redistributive role has grown over time, driven largely by the expansion of Medicaid. Non-medical transfers are strongly countercyclical, and benefit reduction rates (the implicit tax rates on the first dollar earned) are significant. We provide parametric estimates of effective transfer functions by program, household type, and income level, ready for use in quantitative work in macroeconomics and public finance.
中文摘要
美国面向劳动年龄家庭的经济状况调查转移支付规模及其重要性如何？利用收入与项目参与调查的微观数据，我们记录到，在给定年份中，有相当大比例的家庭（超过三分之一）获得了转移支付。在获得转移支付的家庭中，平均转移金额约为2016年美元的17,000美元，超过家庭平均收入的五分之一。对于无收入家庭，总条件转移支付金额达到26,500美元，接近家庭平均收入的三分之一。转移支付随收入增加而急剧下降，但在收入分布的中高区间仍出人意料地普遍存在。该系统显著压缩了不平等，其再分配作用随时间增强，这主要得益于医疗补助计划的扩张。非医疗转移支付具有强烈的逆周期性，且福利削减率（即对首美元收入的隐性税率）显著。我们提供了按项目、家庭类型和收入水平划分的有效转移函数参数估计，可直接用于宏观经济学和公共财政领域的定量研究。