Burkhauser

Cornell economist Richard Burkhauser and his colleagues have been awarded the 2012 Richard Musgrave Prize, given each year for the best article published in the National Tax Journal.

Their paper showed that the income growth of the U.S. middle class, long portrayed as stagnant, may be more than 10 times greater than previously suggested by some economists.

Burkhauser, the Sarah Gibson Blanding Professor of Policy Analysis, and his colleagues published the study in the journal's March issue.

The paper strongly refuted the methodology used by some economists that suggested the middle class' income had stagnated over the last 30 years while the income of the top 1 percent of households had dramatically increased, fueling much of the political debate about inequality, income stagnation and economic stratification -- the 1 percent versus the 99 percent.

The paper, "A 'Second Opinion' on the Economic Health of the American Middle Class," was written by Burkhauser and co-authors Jeff Larrimore, M.A. '09, Ph.D. '10, of the Joint Committee of Taxation, and Kosali Simon, professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University and formerly a Cornell professor of policy analysis and management. The research was supported by Cornell.

The winner of the Musgrave Prize is selected by the members of the National Tax Journal's editorial advisory board, who choose the article published in the journal that best exemplifies the attributes of economist Richard Musgrave's research -- "strong analytical underpinnings, rigorous argument buttressed by solid empirical evidence, respect for the importance of historical and institutional factors and relevance for public policy," the award letter said.

The authors will receive a plaque at the National Tax Association's Annual Conference on Taxation in Providence, R.I., Nov. 15-17.