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Getting the Measure of Inequality

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  • Jenkins, Stephen P.

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

I focus on one of the most-commonly-cited 'facts'; about UK income inequality – that it has changed little over the last 30 years – and reflect on how robust that description is. I look at a number of fundamental issues in inequality measurement related to inequality concepts (e.g., inequality aversion, relative versus absolute inequality, and inequality of opportunity versus outcome), definitions of 'income', the income-receiving unit, and the reference period, and related data issues. There are grounds for arguing that income inequality levels are higher, and the inequality increase over time greater, than conventional approaches indicate.

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  • Jenkins, Stephen P., 2022. "Getting the Measure of Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 14996, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14996
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. George E. Halkos & Panagiotis-Stavros C. Aslanidis, 2023. "Causes and Measures of Poverty, Inequality, and Social Exclusion: A Review," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-25, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax return data; income inequality; inequality; survey data; top incomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access

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