ALL men are created equal, but they do not stay that way for long. That is one message of a report this month by the oecd, a club of 35 mostly rich democracies. Many studies show how income gaps have evolved over time or between countries. The oecd's report looks instead at how inequality evolves with age. As people build their careers, or don't, their incomes tend to diverge. This inequality peaks when a generation reaches its late 50s. But it tends to fall thereafter, as people draw redistributive public pensions and quit the rat race, a contest that tends to give more unto every one that hath. Old age, the oecd notes, is a "leveller".
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