PARETO'S LAW FOR INCOME OF INDIVIDUALS AND DEBT OF BANKRUPT COMPANIES

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Abstract
We analyze the distribution of income and income tax of individuals in Japan for the fiscal year 1998. From the rank-size plots, we find that the accumulated probability distribution of both data obey a power law with a Pareto exponent very close to -2. We also present an analysis of the distribution of the debts owed by bankrupt companies from 1997 to March 2000, which is consistent with a power law behavior with a Pareto exponent equal to -1. This power law is the same as that of the income distribution of companies. Possible implications of these findings for model building are discussed.