<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that “the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” According to the World Economic Forum (2021), income disparity is at the top of global risks in the coming years. The development of income inequality is a growing concern worldwide, particularly since the Great Recession. This study is based on available data on the Gini coefficient of equivalized disposable income from 2005 to 2019 for the 27 European Union countries. We found that the indicator’s value demonstrates a reasonably even distribution of income (not exceeding 40%) in all European Union countries, except Bulgaria. We used the FORECAST ETS function (Excel for Microsoft 365) that is based on the AAA version of the Exponential Smoothing (ETS) algorithm to conduct our analysis. We grouped the EU 27 countries to investigate income equality behavior. According to the interval’s median of the sample’s standard deviation, we selected Italy, Spain, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria for further investigation. We conclude the absence of general trends in the inequality of income distribution in society due to the financial crisis factors. The research presents exploratory insights into income inequality in the European Union.</p>
</abstract>

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that “the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” According to the World Economic Forum (2021), income disparity is at the top of global risks in the coming years. The development of income inequality is a growing concern worldwide, particularly since the Great Recession. This study is based on available data on the Gini coefficient of equivalized disposable income from 2005 to 2019 for the 27 European Union countries. We found that the indicator’s value demonstrates a reasonably even distribution of income (not exceeding 40%) in all European Union countries, except Bulgaria. We used the FORECAST ETS function (Excel for Microsoft 365) that is based on the AAA version of the Exponential Smoothing (ETS) algorithm to conduct our analysis. We grouped the EU 27 countries to investigate income equality behavior. According to the interval’s median of the sample’s standard deviation, we selected Italy, Spain, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria for further investigation. We conclude the absence of general trends in the inequality of income distribution in society due to the financial crisis factors. The research presents exploratory insights into income inequality in the European Union.

Income Inequalities in EU Countries: Gini Indicator Analysis

Professional Studies and Undergraduate Dept.

ECONOMICS

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Income Inequalities in EU Countries: Gini Indicator Analysis"}

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that “the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide...

Income Inequalities in EU Countries: Gini Indicator Analysis

Published Online: Jun 04, 2021

Page range: 125 - 142

Received: Mar 20, 2021

Accepted: Apr 06, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2021-0007

Keywords
EU, Income inequality, Gini, Sturges formula, quintile, forecast, Exponential Smoothing, Global financial crisis, Standard deviation

© 2021 Mythili Kolluru et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Income Inequalities in EU Countries: Gini Indicator Analysis

Published Online: Jun 04, 2021

Page range: 125 - 142

Received: Mar 20, 2021

Accepted: Apr 06, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2021-0007

KeywordsEU, Income inequality, Gini, Sturges formula, quintile, forecast, Exponential Smoothing, Global financial crisis, Standard deviation

© 2021 Mythili Kolluru et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
EU, Income inequality, Gini, Sturges formula, quintile, forecast, Exponential Smoothing, Global financial crisis, Standard deviation