The distribution of gross income net of taxes and transfers - or equivalenty consumption - is generally considered a reasonable approximation of the distribution of well-being in the society. One typically observes differing trends in the distribution of gross incomes across countries or within...

Equivalence scales are typically designed for adjusting households' incomes for differences in size and composition. On the one hand, there is evidence that the way differences in needs across households are taken into account has a significant impact on the assessment of inequality in the...