From tables to microdata
A multivariate synthetic approach for studying economic inequality, with an application to The Netherlands 1950–1976
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24213752 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Kuypers (University of Antwerp) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Historical Methods A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0161-5440 • E-ISSN: 1940-1906 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01615440.2026.2733121 |
| OpenAlex | W7216437194 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
Long-run studies of income and wealth distributions based on tabular tax data focus almost exclusively on the top 10% or 1% and do not consider underlying dimensions of social stratification. This paper proposes a methodology which overcomes these limitations by creating multivariate synthetic data through a combination of three techniques: ungrouping, imputations and reweighting. The reliability of the methodology is shown through an evaluation based on modern EU-SILC data. The methodology is then applied to grouped income tax data from the Netherlands between 1950 and 1976. First results show that a narrow focus on the top of the distribution neglects a lot of patterns and trends that shape total income inequality. The multivariate synthetic microdata open up a large scala of research potential.
1950s · 1960s · 1970s · Economic inequality · Income distribution · Multivariate analysis · Netherlands · synthetic microdata · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Statistical Methods and Applications
Analysis of Incomplete Multivariate Data
Methods of Measuring the Concentration of Wealth
Top Incomes in the Netherlands over the Twentieth Century1
Long-run evolution of income inequality in the Nordic countries
Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys
In It Together
Some Generalized Functions for the Size Distribution of Income
Generalized Pareto Curves
Kernel density estimation on grouped data
Drawing a Line
Inequality in the very long run
Estimating Income Inequality from Tax Data with A Priori Assumed Income Distributions in Hungary, 1928-41
Pre‐Industrial Inequality
The Worldwide Standard of Living Since 1800
Income taxes and redistribution in the early twentieth century
| Highly cited | No |
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