Main Drivers of Income Inequality in Central European and Baltic Countries : Some Insights from Recent Household Survey Data

Present levels of income inequality in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia remain considerably higher than their pre-transition levels, although the relative pace of change over time has varied quite...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Zaidi, Salman
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING AVERAGE INCOME AVERAGE INCOMES AVERAGE SHARE CALCULATIONS CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CASH TRANSFERS CLIENT COUNTRY CONSUMER CONSUMER DURABLE CONTRIBUTION CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISONS CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA DATA COLLECTION DATA SET DATA SETS DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENT VARIABLE DIFFERENCES IN INCOME DISABILITY DISABILITY BENEFITS DISADVANTAGED GROUPS DISPOSABLE INCOME DISPOSABLE INCOMES DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES DISTRIBUTIONAL OUTCOMES DIVIDENDS DURABLE GOODS EARNINGS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE EMPLOYMENT STATUS EXPLANATORY VARIABLES FAMILY BENEFITS GDP GENERAL PUBLIC GINI COEFFICIENT GINI INDEX GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT GROSS INCOME GROSS INCOMES HIGH INCOME INEQUALITY HIGHER INEQUALITY HOUSEHOLD DEMOGRAPHICS HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INCIDENCE ANALYSIS INCOME INCOME COMPONENTS INCOME DIFFERENCES INCOME DISPARITIES INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS INCOME GAP INCOME GROUPS INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME LEVELS INCOME POVERTY INCOME REDISTRIBUTION INCOME TAX INCOME TAXES INCREASE IN INCOME INCREASED INEQUALITY INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES INEQUALITY ESTIMATES INEQUALITY MEASURES INSURANCE INVERSE RELATIONSHIP LABOR FORCE LABOR INCOME LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKET PROGRAMS LEVEL OF EDUCATION LIVING STANDARDS LONGITUDINAL DATA LOW INCOME LOW INCOMES MARKET ECONOMIES MEMBER COUNTRIES MIDDLE CLASS MORTGAGE NEGATIVE SLOPE OBSERVED INCREASE OUTPUT PER CAPITA INCOME PERSONAL INCOME PERSONAL INFORMATION POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL PLATFORM POOR POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POPULATION SUB-GROUP POSSESSION POVERTY REDUCTION PRIMARY EDUCATION PROBABILITIES PROBABILITY PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY PUBLIC SPENDING PUBLIC SUPPORT PUBLIC TRANSFERS QUESTIONNAIRE RAPID INFLATION REDISTRIBUTIVE IMPACT REGIONAL DIFFERENCES REGIONAL DUMMIES REGRESSION ANALYSIS REGRESSION RESULTS RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS RETIRED RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL RESIDENTS SECOND JOB SECONDARY EDUCATION SELF-EMPLOYMENT SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL EXCLUSION SOCIAL INSURANCE SOCIAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL TRANSFERS TAX BENEFIT TAX CODE TAX RATE TAX RATES TAX SYSTEM TAX SYSTEMS TRANSITION COUNTRIES TRANSITION ECONOMIES UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS UNEMPLOYMENT RATES WAGE WAGE INEQUALITY WELFARE PROGRAMS WELFARE STATE WELL-BEING WORKING AGE WORKING AGE POPULATION
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090113081636 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4016

Description
Summary:	Present levels of income inequality in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia remain considerably higher than their pre-transition levels, although the relative pace of change over time has varied quite a bit across countries. Using data from the 2006 European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions, this paper finds that prevailing levels of income inequality in these countries continue to be low by international standards, and that this is in large part due to the very high redistributive impact of direct taxes and public transfers. In addition to the instrumental role of tax and transfer policies in redistributing income, the paper highlights the important role played by differences in education levels and labor market participation rates in explaining observed inequalities across people and across different regions (although not in explaining observed differences across countries). The paper includes an analysis of key factors that help explain observed variation across countries in the level of public support for redistribution, including peoples' economic background and relative success in life, whether they perceive poverty to be associated with factors within or outside the control of those it afflicts (for example, laziness/lack of willpower vs. injustice in society).

Main Drivers of Income Inequality in Central European and Baltic Countries : Some Insights from Recent Household Survey Data

Similar Items