Research Discussion Paper – RDP 2015-15 Household Economic Inequality in Australia

Contents

• Introduction
• Definitions of Household Consumption and Income
• Stylised Facts About Household Economic Inequality
• Cross-country Comparisons of Income and Consumption Inequality
• Transitory and Persistent Income Inequality
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Imputed Rent and the Distributions of Household Expenditure and Income
• Appendix B: Alternative Survey Measures of Inequality
• Appendix C: Income Inequality Estimates Using Tax Records
• References
• Copyright and Disclaimer Notices

The Discussion Paper series is intended to make the results of the current economic research within the Reserve Bank available to other economists. Its aim is to present preliminary results of research so as to encourage discussion and comment. Views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Reserve Bank. Use of any results from this paper should clearly attribute the work to the authors and not to the Reserve Bank of Australia.

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We would like to thank Laura Berger-Thomson, Michael Plumb, John Simon, Peter Tulip and Roger Wilkins for useful comments and suggestions.