Sources of Income Inequality in Ireland

Abstract

This paper analyses inequality in Ireland via a decomposition of the Gini coefficient by source of income. Using data from the Irish Household Budget Survey of 1987, seventeen components of disposable income are identified and their contribution to inequality evaluated. Their contribution to inequality at the margin is also calculated. The paper also examines how policy changes addressing inequality can be assessed in terms of their effect upon both equality and output via an abbreviated social welfare function.Inequality; Gini Coefficient; Abbreviated Welfare Function