International Comparisons of Income Inequality and Welfare in the 1980s

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The main purpose of this paper is to compare the income inequality and welfare levels between countries selected on a worldwide basis in the 1980s. As analytical tools, Lorenz curves, the Gini coefficients and generalized Lorenz curves are used. Implicit in our analysis is the presumption that welfare is a function of the "size" of total income and distributional equality. This study makes it possible to observe the welfare levels of the selected countries by combining real GDP per capita with income decile. It thus contributes to increasing our understanding of household income inequality and welfare levels in the 1980s. Data for this study is from the "Households Income and Expenditure Statistics, 4th edition" (HIES), one of a series published by the International Labour Organization.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. INTRODUCTION
• Ⅱ. STATISTICAL SOURCES AND METHODS
• 1. Statistical Sources and Income Concept/Unit
• 2. Statistical Methods for Estimating the Gini coefficients and Deciles
• Ⅲ. HOUSEHOLD INCOME INEQUALITY
• IV. EVALUATING WELFARE
• V. SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS
• APPENDIX: Statistical Methods
• 1) General interpolation method
• 2) Kakwani-Podder method
• 3) Pareto method
• 4) Beta Lorenz curve method
• REFERENCES