The Distribution of Income in Ireland (2000) - Combat Poverty Agency

22 The Distribution of Income in IrelandWe begin in Table 3.5 with three groups of households distinguishedby whether the head is aged under 35, 35-64, or 65 orover. The table first shows the MLD for each of these sub-groups.Table 3.5: Decomposition of Inequality in Disposable EquivalisedIncome by Age of Head, 1994 and 1997 UI SurveyA:1994GroupUnder 3535 - under 6565 or overAllOf which:Inequalitywithin Group(MLD*1000)162168102160Within group inequality (% of total)Between group inequality (% of total)B: 1997Under 3535 - under 6565 or overAllOf which :175169121167Within group inequality (% of total)Between group inequality (% of total)Group MeanIncome(£ per week)132.13124.90107.20123.64158 (98.8)2(1.2)177.65160.26132.17159.35163 (97.8)4 (2.2)Group Share inPopulation186814100196615100We see that in both years the level of within-group inequality ismuch lower among those headed by someone aged 65 or overthan among the two younger groups. Households headed by anolder person also have lower mean income than the other twogroups, even after adjustment for their smaller size. Inequalitybetween the groups accounts for less than 2 per cent of overallinequality, the rest being attributable to inequality within theage groups. Inequality within each of the age-groups and betweenthem all rose between 1994 and 1997.Table 3.6 focuses on households headed by a man or a coupleversus those with a female head. 2 Only 15 per cent ofand Watson (1998) discuss alternatives to this crude categorisation.The Distribution of Income in the 1990s 23households are in the latter group, and the table shows that thelevel of inequality is less than among them than the rest of thesample, but that female-headed households have lower meanincomes than the rest of the population. Inequality within thesetwo groups rather than between them accounts for almost allthe overall total, and this was unchanged between 1994 and1997.Table 3.6: Decomposition of Inequality in DisposableEquivalised Income by Sex of Head, 1994 and 1997 MI SurveyGroupInequalitywithin Group(MLD*1000)A: 1994Male or Couple161Female134All160Of which:Within group inequality (% of total)Between group inequality (% of total)B: 1997Male or CoupleFemaleAll164158167Of which:Within group inequality (% of total)Between group inequality (% of total)Group MeanIncome(£ per week)127.39103.14123.64157 (98.3)3 (1.7)164.61126.83159.35163 (97.7)4 (2.3)Group Share inPopulation(%)85151008614100Table 3.7 categorises households by the labour force status ofthe head. There is now a great deal of variation in inequalitywithin these groups. There is a much higher degree of inequalityamong households headed by a self-employed person (includingfarmers) than among those headed by an employee,and relatively little inequality among households headed bysomeone who is unemployed or ill, or engaged full-time inworking in the home. There are also now substantial differencesacross the groups in mean equivalised income: householdsheaded by an employee or a self-employed person havemuch higher mean incomes than those with an unemployed or