  We analyze three sets of income data: the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics
PSID), the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), and the German Socio-Economic
Panel (GSOEP). It is shown that the empirical income distribution is consistent
with a two-parameter lognormal function for the low-middle income group
(97%-99% of the population), and with a Pareto or power law function for the
high income group (1%-3% of the population). This mixture of two qualitatively
different analytical distributions seems stable over the years covered by our
data sets, although their parameters significantly change in time. It is also
found that the probability density of income growth rates almost has the form
of an exponential function.
