Statistical Inference on Changes in Income Inequality in Australia

Abstract

This paper studies the changes in income inequality of individuals in Australia between 1986 and 1999. Individuals are divided into various subgroups along several dimensions, such as region of residence, age, employment status etc. The changes in inequality over time, between and within the various subgroups is studied, and the bootstrap method is used to establish whether these changes are statistically significant.Income inequality; Gini coefficient; Theil inequality measure; bootstrap.