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Ireland’s Long Run Social Development and Vulnerability2.2.3 Income DistributionAn important aspect of social development is the degree of equalityor inequality in incomes, opportunities and outcomes. This sectionexamines the distribution of income in Ireland during the 1990s,inquiring respectively into the distribution of earnings acrossindividuals, of market income across households, and of disposableincome (income after taxes and transfers) across households and percapita. The factors that caused these trends in income distributionare identified and discussed later in the chapter.Individual EarningsEarnings from employment—including wages, bonuses, benefitsin-kindand other benefits—represent by far the largest share ofhousehold income. The distribution of earnings is a key influenceon overall income distribution. The trend in the distribution ofearnings in Ireland since 1987 has been documented by Barrett et al.(2000), using data from the Living in Ireland surveys. Thedistribution of gross hourly and weekly earnings in Ireland, in 1987,1994 and 1997 is shown in Table 2.5.TABLE 2.5Distribution of Earnings, Ireland 1987, 1994 and 1997As Percentage of Median 1987 1994 1997All employees, gross hourly earnings:Bottom decile 47 47 48Bottom quartile 73 68 69Top quartile 137 150 153Top decile 196 224 233Full-time employees, gross weekly earnings:Bottom decile 49 48 51Bottom quartile 75 72 71Top quartile 135 143 142Top decile 182 197 202Source: Barrett, Fitz Gerald, & Nolan (2000), Tables 7.1 and 7.2.63