The Distribution of Income by Sectors of the Population

I interpret the 'distribution of income by sectors of the population' to refer to the personal distribution of income, with evidence about it derived from household surveys. Section 1 outlines the links between the personal and factor income distributions, and includes a discussion of research using National Accounts data to check the quality of household survey income data. Section 2 provides a number of breakdowns of the personal income distribution in Britain using a variety of methods and subgroup types (including age, family type, housing tenure, and economic status). Section 3 draws attention to longitudinal issues - how much individuals' incomes and subgroup membership changes between one year and the next, and the links between them. Section 4 provides a summary and concluding remarks.

Inequality and the GB2 income distribution

The generalized entropy class of inequality indices is derived for Generalized Beta of the Second Kind (GB2) income distributions, thereby providing a full range of topsensitive and bottom-sensitive measures. An examination of British income inequality in 1994/95 and 2004/05 illustrates the analysis.inequality, generalized entropy indices, generalized Beta of the second kind distribution, GB2 distribution, Singh-Maddala distribution, Dagum distribution

Review of Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Stata by Gould, Pitblado, and Sribney

The new book by Gould, Pitblado, and Sribney (2003) is reviewed. Copyright 2003 by StataCorp LP.maximum likelihood, Stata programming

Multivariate probit regression using simulated maximum likelihood

We discuss the application of the GHK simulation method to maximum likelihood estimation of the multivariate probit regression model, and describe and illustrate a Stata program mvprobit for this purpose.

The Dynamics of Social Assistance Benefit Receipt in Britain

We analyze the dynamics of social assistance benefit (SA) receipt among working-age adults in Britain between 1991 and 2005. The decline in the annual SA receipt rate was driven by a decline in the SA entry rate, rather than by the SA exit rate (which actually declined too). We examine the determinants of these trends using a multivariate dynamic random effects probit model of SA entry and exit probabilities applied to British Household Panel Survey data. The model estimates and accompanying counterfactual simulations highlight the importance of two factors – the decline in the unemployment rate over the period, and other changes in the socioeconomic environment including two reforms to the income maintenance system in the 1990s. The results also reveal a substantial heterogeneity in SA annual transition rates.benefits, income dynamics, social assistance, welfare, dynamic random effects probit

Do Current Income and Annual Income Measures Provide Different Pictures of Britain's Income Distribution?

Most UK surveys, including those used each year to derive the official UK income distribution statistics ('Households Below Average Income'), provide measures of current household income rather than annual household income, which is the measure used in most other countries. Using British Household Panel Survey data, we examine whether estimates of Britain's income distribution and its trends are sensitive to the choice between current and annual income measures. The main finding is that current and annual income measures provide remarkably similar results. We explore why.

Using Household Panel Data to Understand the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty

This paper discusses how household panel surveys can be informative about the intergenerational transmission of poverty. We consider issues both of data and of the statistical methods that may be applied to those data. Although the data focus is on panel surveys from developed countries, we also briefly consider data availability in developing countries. We set out a list of survey data requirements for intergenerational analysis, and then discuss how the main household panel surveys in developed countries meet the criteria. In order to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of household panel surveys, the section also compares them with other types of longitudinal studies. Next, we review the estimation methods that have been used to examine the intergenerational transmission of poverty when using household panel surveys. Finally, we provide three examples of household panel surveys in developing countries (Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico) that meet the data requirements for analysis of the intergenerational transmission of poverty.Demographic change, Consumption structure, Consumption of the elderly

New Directions in the Analysis of Inequality and Poverty

Over the last four decades, academic and wider public interest in inequality and poverty has grown substantially. In this paper we address the question: what have been the major new directions in the analysis of inequality and poverty over the last thirty to forty years? We draw attention to developments under seven headings: changes in the extent of inequality and poverty, changes in the policy environment, increased scrutiny of the concepts of ‘poverty’ and inequality’ and the rise of multidimensional approaches, the use of longitudinal perspectives, an increase in availability of and access to data, developments in analytical methods of measurement, and developments in modelling.inequality, poverty, distribution of income

Trends in Income Inequality, Pro-Poor Income Growth and Income Mobility

We provide an analytical framework within which changes in income inequality over time are related to the pattern of income growth across the income range, and the reshuffling of individuals in the income pecking order. We use it to explain how it was possible both for 'the poor' to have fared badly relatively to 'the rich' in the USA during the 1980s (when income inequality grew substantially), and also for income growth to have been pro-poor. Income growth was also pro-poor in Western Germany, more so than in the USA, and inequality did not rise as much.inequality; income growth; income mobility; pro-poor growth; reranking