Income Inequalities in the European Union: Norm or Crisis? = Income Inequalities in the European Union: Norm or Crisis?

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The aim of this article is to analyse the level of income inequality in the European Union based on the Gini coefficient index, income quintile ration and poverty rate. The author has attempted to answer to the following questions: Has the existing social inequality been deepened or levelled as a result of the emergence of the economic recession in 2008? Whether and to what extent the redistribution of income reduced inequality?, and What consequences for the social structure may result from changes in inequality? Quoted data shows that there exist disparities in income distribution in the EU, with the lowest and highest rates reached by both, the developed economies and the developing economies, as well as those countries whose economic situation deteriorated significantly as a result of the financial crisis. It is therefore difficult to talk about the strong impact of the crisis on the significant deterioration of the financial situation of population and increase of the economic stratification of the EU societies, based on the Gini and the S80/20 quintile share ratio. The article provides data illustrating the fact the countries best coping with the problem of inequality are those which implement effective redistribution. The results of studies presented suggest that the growing wealth inequality in advanced economies is largely driven by the growing concentration of wealth at the top, which, combined with increasing poverty at the bottom leads to the erosion of the middle class.