# **Table 1** : **Descriptive Statistics**

|**Social Welfare Function**|**Average**<br>**incomes**|**Bottom**<br>**10%**|**Bottom**<br>**20%**|**Bottom**<br>**40%**|**Bottom**<br>**90%**|**Atkinson**<br>**Index (1)**|**Atkinson**<br>**Index (2)**|**Atkinson**<br>**Index (3)**|**Sen Index**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Sample 1: Long Spells (N=117)**|||**All Observati**|**ons (Pooled)**||||||
|Mean<br>|0.020|0.006|0.005|0.003|0.001|0.002|0.003|0.004|0.001|
|Std. Dev.|0.028|0.033|0.025|0.018|0.008|0.009|0.018|0.024|0.010|
|P10|-0.011|-0.022|-0.018|-0.015|-0.008|-0.006|-0.012|-0.016|-0.010|
|P90|0.052|0.042|0.034|0.025|0.012|0.013|0.025|0.031|0.014|
|**Sample 2: Min-5-year Spells (N=285)**||||||||||
|Mean|0.015|0.002|0.001|0.000|0.000|0.000|0.001|0.002|0.000|
|Std. Dev.|0.042|0.052|0.034|0.023|0.010|0.012|0.028|0.040|0.012|
|P10|-0.028|-0.053|-0.039|-0.027|-0.012|-0.014|-0.028|-0.038|-0.015|
|P90|0063|0061|0045|0031|0012|0016|0031|0041|0016|
|**Low Income (N=42)**|.|.<br>**By Inc**|.<br>**ome Category**|.<br>**(Min-5-year Sp**|.<br>**ells)**|.|.|.|.|
|<br>Mean|0.025|0.010|0.007|0.004|0.001|0.002|0.005|0.007|0.002|
|Std. Dev.<br>|0.035|0.051|0.040|0.029|0.015|0.016|0.029|0.038|0.017|
|P10|-0.012|-0.037|-0.027|-0.028|-0.016|-0.015|-0.022|-0.025|-0.018|
|P90|0.058|0.076|0.061|0.039|0.023|0.021|0.036|0.055|0.025|
|**Middle Income (N=168)**||||||||||
|Mean|0.013|0.003|0.002|0.001|0.000|0.001|0.002|0.003|0.000|
|Std. Dev.|0.049|0.057|0.036|0.024|0.010|0.013|0.032|0.046|0.013|
|P10|-0.037|-0.060|-0.047|-0.034|-0.013|-0.016|-0.030|-0.042|-0.017|
|P90|0.079|0.064|0.047|0.034|0.014|0.017|0.033|0.048|0.018|
|**High Income (N=75)**||||||||||
|Mean|0.016|-0.004|-0.004|-0.004|-0.002|-0.001|-0.002|-0.003|-0.002|
|Std. Dev.|0.026|0.037|0.021|0.014|0.006|0.006|0.014|0.022|0.008|
|P10|-0.013|-0.041|-0.031|-0.022|-0.009|-0.009|-0.016|-0.025|-0.012|
|P90|0.051|0.036|0.022|0.012|0.004|0.006|0.015|0.023|0.006|
|||**B**|**y Decade (Min**|**-5-year Spells)**||||||
|**1980s (N= 80)**||||||||||
|Mean|0.002|-0.002|-0.001|-0.002|-0.001|-0.001|-0.001|-0.002|-0.001|
|Std. Dev.|0.045|0.037|0.026|0.019|0.010|0.009|0.018|0.025|0.011|
|P10|-0.058|-0.045|-0.035|-0.022|-0.013|-0.011|-0.018|-0.034|-0.015|
|P90|0.048|0.034|0.024|0.017|0.009|0.008|0.015|0.022|0.010|
|**1990s (N= 198)**||||||||||
|<br>Mean|0.008|-0.006|-0.004|-0.003|-0.001|-0.001|-0.003|-0.004|-0.002|
|Std. Dev.|0.044|0.054|0.035|0.024|0.011|0.013|0.029|0.041|0.013|
|P10|-0037|-0073|-0051|-0034|-0014|-0016|-0031|-0045|-0018|
|P90|.<br>0.055|.<br>0.060|.<br>0.043|.<br>0.033|.<br>0.015|.<br>0.017|.<br>0.031|.<br>0.038|.<br>0.018|
|**2000s (N=167)**||||||||||
|<br>Mean|0.029|0.012|0.007|0.004|0.001|0.002|0.006|0.010|0.001|
|Std. Dev.|0.036|0.052|0.034|0.023|0.010|0.012|0.029|0.042|0.012|
|P10|-0.014|-0.030|-0.024|-0.021|-0.010|-0.010|-0.018|-0.023|-0.013|
|P90|0.080|0.075|0.053|0.034|0.012|0.018|0.039|0.057|0.017|

Notes: This table reports the mean, standard deviation, and 10<sup>~~th~~</sup> and 90<sup>~~th~~</sup> percentiles of the distribution of growth rates of average income (the first column) and the relevant inequality measure corresponding to the indicated social welfare function (the remaining eight columns). The top panel pools all countries and periods. The middle panel distinguishes countries by their income level. The bottom panel reports results by decades. In the bottom panel, each subsample consists of all spells with at least one end-point in the indicated decade. Spells are weighted by the fraction of years of the spell falling in the indicated decade. The dataset in the second and third panels consists of the sample of 284 non-overlapping spells at least five years long.

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