This graph shows the dramatic change in China’s population and GDP per capita (especially in the last 200 years). Compare this to the graph of the World that I created earlier.
{Click on the image to take a closer look}

Data estimates for population and GDP per capita are from Angus Maddison Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Groningen. 1990 international Geary-Khamis dollars are purchasing power parities (PPPs) used to evaluate output which are calculated based on international prices. See United Nations Statistics Division for more information their computation.
[tags]income distribution, population, GDP per Capita, economic history, income, history, China[/tags]
After posting a graph of world population and GDP per capita for the last 2 thousand years, I went back and simplified the design based on the feedback I received.
{Click on the image to take a closer look}

The previous version used color to show a change in GDP per capita and included grid lines which I removed. Also in the new graph, I added the United States GDP per Capita for select years as a comparison.
Data estimates for population and GDP per capita are from Angus Maddison Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Groningen. 1990 international Geary-Khamis dollars are purchasing power parities (PPPs) used to evaluate output which are calculated based on international prices. See United Nations Statistics Division for more information their computation.
[tags]income distribution, population, GDP per Capita, economic history, income, history[/tags]
Ever wonder what the last 2 thousand years of economic growth looked like? The graph below was created using estimates of world population and GDP per capita going back 2 thousand years. (The circle size and color change as GDP per capita increases.)
{Click on the image to take a closer look}

Data estimates for population and GDP per capita are from Angus Maddison Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Groningen. 1990 international Geary-Khamis dollars are purchasing power parities (PPPs) used to evaluate output which are calculated based on international prices. See United Nations Statistics Division for more information their computation.
[tags]income distribution, population, GDP per Capita, economic history[/tags]
{Click on the image to take a closer look}

I found a Federal Reserve article that analyzed the change in Average Hourly Earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers. After adjusting for inflation using the Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) {instead of the Consumer Price Index-Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)} and including an estimate for worker’s benefits, the author concluded that workers’ hourly earnings (wages plus benefits) actually increased by 16% over 30 years (1975-2005) rather than decreased. Here, I graphed the full history, 1964-2006, but used the approach laid out in the article to show the effect of inflation and benefits. BTW, if you earned $16.76 an hour in 2006 that gave you an annual income of $33,520 (assuming you worked full-time).
See also:
Average Income in the United States
Total Income of Top, Middle, & Bottom
[tags]income distribution, income inequality, Federal Reserve, wages, middle class[/tags]
Addendum: This was past on to me from a reader who found it on Marginal Revolution