45126-Invest. Qual-No111

Investment in QualityTABLE 2.10Decile Shares in Total Equivalised Disposable Household Income,1987, 1994, and 1998HouseholdsShare in Total Equivalised Disposable IncomeDecile 1987 1994 19981st Decile 3.2 3.9 3.42nd Decile 4.8 4.8 4.33rd Decile 5.8 5.4 5.04th Decile 6.5 6.1 6.25th Decile 7.4 7.1 7.66th Decile 8.7 8.7 9.17th Decile 10.2 10.5 10.68th Decile 12.3 12.7 12.89th Decile 15.2 15.9 15.810th Decile 25.9 25.0 25.2Total 100 100 100Gini 0.330 0.326 0.338Source: Nolan et al. (2000a).The distribution of equivalised disposable income became slightlymore equally distributed between 1987 and 1994. The share of thetop decile fell by approximately 1 percentage point to 25 per cent,that of the lowest decile rose by 0.7 percentage points to 3.9, and theGini coefficient dropped from 0.330 to 0.326. This effectivelypresents a pattern of broad stability in the distribution of incomeover the period. In the 1994 to 1998 period, however, the share ofthe top decile moved marginally upwards, the share of the bottomthree deciles fell by 1.4 percentage points between them and theGini coefficient increased to 0.338 which was above its 1987 level.2.2.4 Trends in PovertyNew data on income poverty in Ireland became available in mid-2002. Developments over the period since 1987 can be summarised70