The paper assesses the impact of overall inequality, as well
as inequality among the poor and among the rich, on the
growth rates along various percentiles of the income distribution.
The analysis uses micro-census data from U.S. states
covering the period from 1960 to 2010. The paper finds
evidence that high levels of inequality reduce the income
growth of the poor and, if anything, help the growth of
the rich. When inequality is deconstructed into bottom
and top inequality, the analysis finds that it is mostly top
inequality that is holding back growth at the bottom.