Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Inequality indices per household type (2011 and 2020)
| Label | Gini | Atkinson (epsilon = 1) | Theil-T GE (alpha = 1) | Theil-L GE (alpha = 0) | Gini | Atkinson (epsilon = 1) | Theil-T GE (alpha = 1) | Theil-L E (alpha = 0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2020 | |||||||
| Households with dependent children | 0.37 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.27 | 0.32 | 0.17 | 0.16 | 0.19 |
| Households without dependent children | 0.26 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.12 | 0.34 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.20 |
| Single person | 0.39 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.30 | 0.36 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.24 |
| Single person with dependent children | 0.37 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.27 | 0.32 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.18 |
| Three or more adults | 0.38 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.28 | 0.33 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.19 |
| Three or more adults with dependent children | 0.38 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.19 |
| Two adults | 0.39 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.30 | 0.35 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.22 |
| Two adults, at least one aged 65 years or over | 0.27 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.12 | 0.36 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.23 |
| Two adults with one dependent child | 0.38 | 0.25 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.18 |
| Two adults with three or more dependent children | 0.38 | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.28 | 0.34 | 0.20 | 0.19 | 0.23 |
| Two adults with two dependent children | 0.39 | 0.28 | 0.25 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.17 | 0.16 | 0.19 |
| Two adults younger than 65 years | 0.39 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.30 | 0.34 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.21 |
| Two or more adults with dependent children | 0.37 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.27 | 0.33 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.19 |
| Two or more adults without dependent children | 0.37 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.34 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.20 |
Selected theories of income inequality
| Author | Description |
|---|---|
| Positive theories of income inequality | |
| Smith (1776) | Functional distribution of income between the main factors of production: labor, land, and capital. Personal income distribution was not considered. |
| Walras (1874) | Presumption of a relationship between the prices of consumer goods, the prices of production factors, and the distribution of income and wealth. |
| Marshall (1890) | Income distribution depends on the structuring of the production factor market, with particular emphasis on the price of the wage factor. |
| Pareto (1909) | All statistical distributions of income follow the same pattern, which depends on the economic circumstances only to a minor degree |
| Dalton (1920) | Consumers are endowed with some initial resources as well as shares in the profits of enterprises; therefore, prices shape the distribution of income. |
| Schultz (1916), Becker (1962, 1964) | The marginal productivity theory of income distribution does not account for the varying productivity of production factors. |
| Kuznetz (1955) | Trends in income inequality while allowing for changes in the agricultural and modern sectors (higher inequality). |
| Persson, Guido (1994), Barro (1999), Galor (2000), Galor, Moav (2004) | Income inequality as a category incorporated into models explaining the development of other economic phenomena, e.g., economic growth. |
| Normative theories of income inequality | |
| Smith (1776) | Each individual satisfies their own needs and derives benefits from their own labor. |
| Malthus (1803) | Helping disadvantaged individuals in society should not improve their standing in that society in the long run. |
| Ricardo (1817) | Choices must be made between helping individuals (equity) and economic efficiency (allocating resources so that a higher dividend is achieved). |
| Marshall (1890) | Excessive income inequality is seen as a flaw in the economic system, and its elimination is an obvious need, provided that such actions do not cause an economic downturn. |
| Sen (1983, 1990, 1997) | Wealth is an instrument to satisfy needs, not a good. |
| Crocker (1992) | Income and wealth are equated with individual welfare. |
Descriptive statistics determined for the real median income of households by their biological type (2011 and 2020)
| Specific features | Minimum | Maximum | Average | SD | Asymmetry | Kurtosis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ||||||
| Single person | 1,656.69 | 31,102.87 | 11,865.08 | 8,626.16 | 0.83 | 0.01 |
| Single person with dependent children | 1,351.77 | 28,278.54 | 10,510.88 | 7,194.32 | 0.75 | −0.08 |
| Two adults | 2,448.26 | 41,422.42 | 15,796.75 | 11,458.09 | 0.76 | −0.30 |
| Two adults younger than 65 years | 2,576.37 | 46,059.34 | 18,053.12 | 12,918.93 | 0.73 | −0.30 |
| Two adults, at least one aged 65 years or over | 3,947.92 | 28,044.49 | 12,721.58 | 6,190.39 | 0.55 | −0.24 |
| Two adults with one dependent child | 1,746.47 | 37,852.44 | 14,831.13 | 10,115.80 | 0.56 | −0.67 |
| Two adults with two dependent children | 1,143.59 | 32,651.93 | 12,062.19 | 8,560.13 | 0.58 | −0.47 |
| Two adults with three or more dependent children | 2,521.73 | 41,783.66 | 16,313.45 | 11,376.58 | 0.71 | −0.34 |
| Two or more adults without dependent children | 1,768.13 | 37,001.64 | 14,439.07 | 9,827.25 | 0.58 | −0.58 |
| Two or more adults with dependent children | 2,698.83 | 44,450.53 | 17,348.74 | 11,846.04 | 0.66 | −0.39 |
| Three or more adults | 1,761.54 | 38,387.39 | 14,153.74 | 9,884.33 | 0.72 | −0.23 |
| Three or more adults with dependent children | 2,321.09 | 37,066.90 | 14,967.05 | 10,321.80 | 0.70 | −0.27 |
| Households without dependent children | 4,044.01 | 28,631.92 | 14,168.54 | 6,630.58 | 0.25 | −0.77 |
| Households with dependent children | 1,741.76 | 35,741.24 | 14,022.70 | 9,478.56 | 0.59 | −0.53 |
| 2020 | ||||||
| Single person | 2,878.04 | 39,219.26 | 14,792.97 | 10,085.63 | 0.96 | 0.46 |
| Single person with dependent children | 3,344.27 | 33,020.06 | 13,406.16 | 7,834.29 | 0.71 | −0.19 |
| Two adults | 4,644.66 | 50,014.94 | 20,133.46 | 13,266.19 | 0.84 | −0.12 |
| Two adults younger than 65 years | 5,428.21 | 59,721.98 | 23,050.07 | 14,655.37 | 0.79 | −0.08 |
| Two adults, at least one aged 65 years or over | 3,799.85 | 48,849.00 | 17,581.58 | 11,936.95 | 1.02 | 0.55 |
| Two adults with one dependent child | 5,430.05 | 46,529.28 | 20,483.28 | 12,048.63 | 0.62 | −0.61 |
| Two adults with two dependent children | 4,228.46 | 41,423.88 | 19,226.05 | 11,204.71 | 0.53 | −0.83 |
| Two adults with three or more dependent children | 2,244.74 | 35,085.86 | 15,201.32 | 9,410.65 | 0.54 | −0.72 |
| Two or more adults without dependent children | 4,923.10 | 50,024.02 | 20,596.13 | 12,985.93 | 0.79 | −0.22 |
| Two or more adults with dependent children | 3,997.88 | 40,661.14 | 18,524.73 | 10,936.62 | 0.55 | −0.75 |
| Three or more adults | 5,443.84 | 50,333.47 | 21,790.62 | 13,060.10 | 0.64 | −0.53 |
| Three or more adults with dependent children | 3,680.36 | 38,804.69 | 17,796.42 | 10,346.80 | 0.47 | −0.95 |
| Households without dependent children | 4,402.36 | 46,697.62 | 18,720.43 | 11,743.30 | 0.83 | −0.01 |
| Households with dependent children | 3,953.92 | 39,740.40 | 17,932.39 | 10,464.23 | 0.56 | −0.71 |
Inequality rates – indices per country (2011 and 2020)
| Label | Gini | Atkinson (epsilon = 1) | Theil-T GE (alpha = 1) | Theil-L GE (alpha = 0) | Gini | Atkinson (epsilon = 1) | Theil-T E (alpha = 1) | Theil-L GE (alpha = 0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2020 | |||||||
| Austria | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Belgium | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Bulgaria | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Croatia | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Cyprus | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Czechia | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Denmark | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Estonia | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Finland | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| France | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Germany | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Greece | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Hungary | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Ireland | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Latvia | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Lithuania | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Luxembourg | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Malta | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Netherlands | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Norway | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Poland | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Portugal | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Romania | 0.20 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Slovakia | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Slovenia | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Spain | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Sweden | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
Changes in inequality by biological type of households
| Label | Theil-L vs Theil-T | Inequality changes |
|---|---|---|
| Households with dependent children | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Households without dependent children | Theil-L increase >Theil-T increase | Inequality increase among lowest-income population |
| Single person | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Single person with dependent children | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Three or more adults | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Three or more adults with dependent children | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Two adults | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Two adults, at least one aged 65 years or over | Theil-L increase >Theil-T increase | Inequality increase among lowest-income population |
| Two adults with one dependent child | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Two adults with three or more dependent children | Theil-T decrease = Theil-L decrease | No change |
| Two adults with two dependent children | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Two adults younger than 65 years | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Two or more adults with dependent children | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |
| Two or more adults without dependent children | Theil-T decrease < Theil-L decrease | Inequality decrease among lowest-income population |