$50,000
Measuring Inequality in Real Time
2021
Back to Experts
Jacob Robbins
Assistant Professor of Economics
University of Illinois at Chicago
Grantees
Jacob Robbins was a Dissertation Scholar (opens in a new tab) at Equitable Growth from 2017 – 2018.
Jacob Robbins is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, specializing in inequality and macroeconomics, and a nonresident scholar at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.
His research uses theory and data to understand key economic trends in the U.S. economy, such as changes in inequality, the rise of monopoly power, and secular stagnation.
His research on secular stagnation was awarded the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics best paper of the year in 2020. He received a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Dartmouth College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.
Funded Research
$35,400
Measuring the rise of wealth inequality, capital gains, and income inequality
2020
Grantees: Jacob Robbins (opens in a new tab)
$59,700
Secular stagnation and inequality
2016
Authored by Jacob Robbins
Policy
What is the relationship between inflation, interest rates, and economic growth, and what does it mean for the new Federal Reserve chair? (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs MAY 18, 2026
By: Jacob Robbins
AI, Tech & Energy
Economic Equity & Opportunity
Labor, Wages & Worker Power
Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
Policy
New research finds capital gains are highly concentrated and hardly taxed, underscoring widespread U.S. inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog FEB 26, 2025
By: Jacob Robbins, Cole Campbell, Sam Wylde
Taxation
Policy
Measuring spending inequality in the United States in real time (opens in a new tab)
Blog SEP 8, 2022
By: Loujaina Abdelwahed, Jacob Robbins, Cole Campbell, Shogher Ohannessian, Todd Czurylo
Economic Equity & Opportunity
Household Economic Security
Labor, Wages & Worker Power
Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
Policy
COVID-19 lockdown policy in the United States: Past, present, and future trends (opens in a new tab)
Blog MAY 27, 2021
By: Jacob Robbins
Taxation
Policy
Sleepwalking into depression: The economic response to COVID-19 in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog JUL 24, 2020
By: Jacob Robbins
Labor, Wages & Worker Power
Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
Policy
How the rise of market power in the United States may explain some macroeconomic puzzles (opens in a new tab)
Essays FEB 12, 2018
By: Jacob Robbins
Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
Taxation
Media Mentions
What The Fed’s Rate Decision Means For Your Finances (opens in a new tab)
In the News JUN 17, 2026
Media Mention in:
Investopedia
Fed rate hike odds rise as inflation surges. What it means for you (opens in a new tab)
In the News MAY 18, 2026
Media Mention in:
USA Today
Vinod Khosla thinks future presidential candidates should run on removing income tax for those making less than $100,000 (opens in a new tab)
In the News MAR 5, 2026
Media Mention in:
Fortune
Jacob Robbins’s Working Papers
Academic
The distribution of capital gains in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers FEB 26, 2025
By: Cole Campbell, Jacob A. Robbins, Sam Wylde
Taxation
Academic
Covid-19 Businesses Reopenings and Consumer Spending (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers MAY 27, 2021
By: Raissa Dantas, Jacob A. Robbins
Taxation
Academic
Kaldor and Piketty’s facts: The rise of monopoly power in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Working Papers FEB 12, 2018
By: Gauti Eggertsson, Jacob A. Robbins, Ella Getz Wold
Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
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