Bertrand Garbinti

Researcher - Assistant Professor at CREST-ENSAE-Institut Polytechnique Paris

Research Affiliate at CEPR and Research Fellow at IPP , INED and WIL

Research Interests

Economics of Inequality, Taxation, Public Economics, Economics of the Family

Selected publications

Accounting for Wealth Inequality Dynamics: Methods, Estimates and Simulations for France, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2021, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan and Piketty Thomas, Appendix, Data Appendix, Working Paper 2020, Appendix WP 2020, Working Paper 2016, Appendix WP 2016

The Flip Side of Marital Specialization: The Gendered Effect of Divorce on Living Standards and Labor Supply, Appendix, Journal of Population Economics, 2021, with Bonnet Carole and Solaz Anne, Insee Working Paper

Income Inequality Dynamics in France 1900-2014: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts (DINA), Journal of Public Economics, 2018, Working Paper, Appendix, VoxEu, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan and Piketty Thomas

Applying Generalized Pareto Curves to Inequality Analysis, American Economic Association, Papers & Proceedings, 2018, with Blanchet Thomas, Goupille-Lebret Jonathan and Martinez-Toledano Clara

On the Share of Inheritance in Aggregate Wealth: Europe and the United States 1900-2010, Economica, 2017, with Alvaredo Facundo and Piketty Thomas (PSE Working Paper)

Book chapter

Intergenerational Homeownership in France over the 20th Century, with Frédérique Savignac, chapter in forthcoming NBER book "Measuring and Understanding the Distribution and Intra/Inter-Generational Mobility of Income and Wealth", Editors: Raj Chetty, John N. Friedman, Janet C. Gornick, Barry Johnson, and Arthur Kennickell, University of Chicago Press.

Work in progress (working papers available soon)

Wealth Tax and Information Disclosure Requirements, with Jonathan Goupille-Lebret, Mathilde Munoz, Stefanie Stantcheva and Gabriel Zucman

Abstract: Using exhaustive administrative wealth tax returns in France, we show that taxpayers do not respond to changes in wealth tax rates but strongly react to opportunities to hide information on the type of wealth they own. Combining a set of reforms that dramatically changed wealth information disclosure requirements with both dynamic bunching and difference-in-differences approaches, we estimate behavioral responses to information discontinuities in the wealth tax schedule. Implementing low information options in wealth tax returns causally decreased declared wealth growth rate by 0.4 percentage points each year on average, and by 4 percentage points for those taking-up the opportunity to hide wealth information after the reform. We build a theoretical framework that rationalizes the observed differences between individuals who self-select into the low-information option.

Explaining Income and Wealth Inequality over the Long Run: The Case of France, with Stephane Auray, Aurelien Eyquem and Jonathan Goupille-Lebret

Abstract: We incorporate microeconomic evidence for France using distributional accounts into a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous workers, endogenous labor supply, entrepreneurs, three assets (deposits, housing and capital), heterogeneous discount factors and wealth in the utility. Calibrated using 1984 data, the initial stationary distribution matches the observed levels of income and wealth inequalities up to the top 1%, as well as the aggregate wealth-income ratio. It also fits the observed composition of wealth along the distribution, which makes returns on wealth increase with wealth levels, as in the data. From 1985 to 2018, we feed the model with exogenous changes in taxes and transfers, firms' markups, aggregate productivity, capital depreciation and equity and housing capital gains. The model replicates the observed dynamics of income and wealth inequalities as well as the dynamics of most macroeconomic aggregates. Counterfactual experiments suggest that markups and the tax system are the main interacting drivers of rising income and wealth inequalities over the last 40 years in France.

Inequality and Mobility in Lifetime Incomes in France, with Cecilia Garcia-Peñalosa, Frédérique Savignac and Vladimir Pecheu

Abstract: We examine the evolution of lifetime earnings and the associated mobility patterns in France. We use individual data to characterize changes in income dynamics across cohorts born between 1942 and 1960 for which we have complete earnings histories. The data show that after increasing for several cohorts median incomes have been flat. When we consider men and women separately, we find that both men's and women's earnings have grown during the entire period, moderately for men and somewhat faster for women, but both exhibit similar dynamics. This contrasts with evidence for the US, where flat overall earnings profiles are the result of a decline for men and sharp growth for women. Lifetime earnings inequality exhibits small changes, following a U-shaped pattern but without the marked increase observed in the US. The stability of lifetime inequality seems to be the result of a period of declining dispersion in annual (cross-sectional) earnings and a subsequent increase in earnings mobility. These results point towards both institutions, such as the minimum wage, and social norms related to female participation as important factors in shaping lifetime earnings dispersion and mobility. When we look at more recent cohorts, we find that mobility has fallen considerably, raising the question of whether an increase in lifetime earnings dispersion is starting to take place in France.

Working papers

Predistribution vs. Redistribution: Evidence from France and the U.S., 2021, CEPR WP, with Bozio Antoine, Goupille-Lebret Jonathan, Guillot Malka and Piketty Thomas, VoxEu

Wealth Heterogeneity and the Marginal Propensity to Consume out of Wealth, with Lamarche Pierre, and Savignac Frédérique, 2022

Distributional National Accounts Guidelines, Methods and Concepts Used in the World Inequality Database , with Alvaredo Facundo, Atkinson Anthony B. , Blanchet Thomas, Chancel Lucas, Bauluz Luis, Fisher-Post Matthew, Flores Ignacio, Goupille-Lebret Jonathan, Martínez-Toledano Clara, Morgan Marc, Neef Theresa, Piketty Thomas, Robilliard Anne-Sophie, Saez Emmanuel, Yang Li and Zucman Gabriel, WIL Working Paper, 2021

Accounting for Intergenerational Wealth Mobility in France over the 20th Century: Method and Estimations, CREST Working Paper, with Savignac Frédérique, 2021

Does Part-Time Mothering Help Get a Job? The role of shared custody in women’s employment, R&R European Journal of Population, LSE Working Paper, 2018, with Bonnet Carole and Solaz Anne

Time to Smell the Roses? Risk aversion, the timing of inheritance receipt, and retirement, ECB Working Paper, Insee Working Paper, 2016, with Georges-Kot Simon

Financial Constraints and Self-Employment in France, 1945-2014, Insee Working Paper, 2018, with Bauer Arthur and Georges-Kot Simon

Les donations et héritages favorisent-ils la création d'entreprise et l'achat de la résidence principale ?, Insee Working Paper, 2014

Articles for a general public

in English

Pre-distribution versus redistribution: Evidence from France and the US, VoxEu, 2020, with Bozio Antoine, Goupille-Lebret Jonathan, Guillot Malka and Piketty Thomas

The share of inheritance in aggregate wealth, Blog Banque de France, 2018

Income inequality in France: Economic growth and the gender gap, VoxEU, 2018, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan and Piketty Thomas

The Impact of Inheritance and Transfer Taxation on Economic Behaviors and Inequality: a Literature Review for France, ifo DICE Report, 2018, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan

The evolution of wealth inequality in France from 1800 to 2014, Rue de la Banque, 2018, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan

The role of real estate in euro area wealth inequality: lessons from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey, Rue de la Banque, 2018, with Savignac Frédérique

The rise in inequality among young households in access to the housing market, Blog Banque de France, 2017, with Bonnet Carole and Grobon Sébastien

in French

Mieux taxer l’héritage pour moins taxer le travail ?, Polytechnique Insights, 3 novembre 2021

Patrimoine et endettement des ménages en France, en Allemagne et en Italie avant la crise Covid-19, Bulletin de la Banque de France n°230, 2020, with Coffinet Jérôme, Mouliom Michel and Savignac Frédérique

De la rupture conjugale à une éventuelle remise en couple : l’évolution des niveaux de vie des familles monoparentales entre 2010 et 2015, France Portrait Social, 2019, with Abbas Hicham

Trois décennies d'inégalités et redistribution en France (1990-2018), Variances, 2019, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan and Guillot Malka

Quel est le poids de l’héritage dans le patrimoine total ?, Blog Banque de France, 2018

Ruptures d'unions et inégalités, Dictionnaire des inégalités et de la justice sociale, 2018, with Bonnet Carole and Solaz Anne

Travail indépendant, patrimoine et contraintes financières : quelles évolutions au cours du temps ?, Insee Références (Les entreprises en France), 2018, with Bauer Arthur and Georges-Kot Simon

Trois decennies d’inégalités et de redistribution en France (1990-2018), Note WIL-IPP, 2018, with Bozio Antoine, Goupille-Lebret Jonathan, Guillot Malka and Piketty Thomas

Inégalités de patrimoine en France : quelles évolutions de 1800 à 2014 ?, Rue de la Banque, Variances, 2018, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan

Le rôle de l’immobilier dans les inégalités de patrimoine en zone euro : les enseignements de l’enquête Household Finance and Consumption, Rue de la Banque, 2018, with Savignac Frédérique

L'inégalité croissante d'accès à la propriété des jeunes ménages, Blog Banque de France, 2017, with Bonnet Carole and Grobon Sébastien

Inégalités de revenus et de patrimoine : l'envolée récente des très hauts patrimoines et revenus, Cahiers Français, 2017, with Goupille-Lebret Jonathan

La part de l’héritage dans le patrimoine total en Europe et aux États-Unis, 1900-2010, Lettre de la Recherche, Banque de France, 2017

Accès à la propriété : les inégalités s'accroissent depuis quarante ans, Etudes et Résultats, 2016, with Bonnet Carole and Grobon Sébastien

Les variations de niveau de vie des hommes et des femmes à la suite d'un divorce ou d'une rupture de PACS, Insee-Références (Couples et Familles), 2015, with Bonnet Carole and Solaz Anne

Les conditions de vie des enfants après le divorce, Insee-Première, 2015, with Bonnet Carole and Solaz Anne

Divorce à la retraite : quelles variations de revenus ?, Note pour le COR, 2014, with Bonnet Carole and Solaz Anne

Qui épargne ? Qui désépargne ?, Insee-Références (Les revenus et le patrimoine des ménages), 2014, with Lamarche Pierre

Héritages, donations et aides aux ascendants et descendants, Insee-Références (Les revenus et le patrimoine des ménages), 2012, with Lamarche Pierre and Salembier Laurianne

L'effet d'une naissance sur le niveau de vie du ménage, Insee-Références (Les revenus et le patrimoine des ménages), 2011, with Eudeline Jean-François, Lamarche Pierre, Roucher Dorian and Tomasini Magda