Wage dispersion

The income distribution in Germany, considering the distribution of income in Germany. The personal income distribution considered as the income of an economy on individuals or groups is distributed (eg households ).

Incomes in Germany are unequally distributed to a large extent. Since the 1990s, the inequality of the distribution since 2000 has increased, the greatest increase in all OECD countries. The Gini coefficient for disposable income is about 0.3. Here, the value 0 denotes perfect equality ( all individuals have the same amount ), 1 perfect inequality (one person has everything all the other not ). In comparison, the OECD average is an inequality of incomes. The average gross hourly wage in 2010 was € 12.84. The 10% of workers with the highest hourly wage in 2010 were € 27.77, the 10% with the lowest hourly pay € 5.05.

2.1 National
2.2 International

Development of personal income distribution

Since the 1990s, incomes in Germany are distributed increasingly unequal. The top income earners receive increasingly higher incomes, lower income earners increasingly lower. That is, the high and the low paid Remove greatly from the middle income earners. The Entrepreneurial and property income rose in trend, while the mass incomes stagnated and low earnings have declined.

Income inequality in Germany has increased, according to the OECD since 1995 and since 2000, income inequality and poverty have risen faster in Germany than in any other OECD country. The OECD sees this development in Germany as the cause of the increase in single-person households and single parents.

At the same time, income inequality increases the income poverty.

Joachim Merz from the Research Institute Liberal professions introduced in 2006 that:

" Inequality has increased from 1992 to 2003 as a whole, the income spread has increased with a shift to higher earners. Significant differences between the wage earners and the self-employed are to be recorded; in particular the inequality of 'income has increased. "

Income inequality has continued to increase between 2003 and 2007. According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office achieved the highest income 1 % of the population ( 383 000 ) 13.1% of the income of more than 172 000 euros each. In contrast, the lower-income achieved 50 % of the population ( 38.4 million ) together 14.3% of the income level of less than 22 500 euros.

Market income and disposable income

There are two types of income distribution be distinguished:

Distribution of market income: Primary distribution of income
Distribution of disposable income: Secondary distribution of income

The difference between market income and disposable income is determined only to a part of the income tax. With regard to the leveling effect is the smaller part: When reducing inequality by about 20 percentage points on the way from market income to disposable income causes the part of redistribution, which is attributable to the progressive income taxation, only a reduction in the Gini coefficient by about 5 percentage points. In particular, in international comparison, disposable income is usually studied.

Representation with the Gini coefficient

The income distribution is most commonly stated by the Gini coefficient. Here, a value of 0 is an absolute equal distribution of income at all receive the same income. A value of 1 indicates absolute inequality: one obtains the total income, the other nothing. The Gini coefficient of market income was around the year 2000 about 0.5 and 0.3 of the available income .. The available or secondary income equal to the market or primary income plus pensions and other transfer payments (eg child benefit, sickness benefits, unemployment benefits ) and non-monetary benefits net of advance payments of income taxes and property taxes, social contributions, monetary benefits and other other current transfers (eg solidarity surcharge).

Market income

To calculate the Gini coefficient, the control statistic is used.

In the income tax statistics of the Federal Statistical Office, only data for West Germany were published in 1995. At that time resulted from her a Gini coefficient of 42.2 % for all split at 18 quantiles positive gross income. The Gini coefficient was similar for the 22 quantiles ( study groups ) of the income tax statistics for the entire federal territory in 2001 was 47.9 %, in 2003 45.1% and in 2004 45.3%. However, there are in the lowest quantile between 2001 and 2004, a difference of 2 million taxpayers. Changes in the tax statistics for reform may affect the unequal distribution area drying from the tax statistics.

The increase in the number of quantiles from 18 to 22 could have also led to an increase in inequality between the calculated degree if so unequal distributions were revealed that were previously hidden within the quantiles. Affected by high - Intraquantil unequal distribution here in particular the quantiles at the two ends of the income scale. The Interquantil - inequality of quantiles in the middle is very low, which suggests that also the Intraquantil - inequality is small.

Disposable income

For the disposable income of households, the Gini coefficient of the Human Development Report 2003 in Germany is 0.274. The data are based on a rough division into four quantiles.

Representation with quantiles

The following table shows the unequal distribution of earnings (calculated according to the database of the OECD) in Quantilrelationen. It should be noted here that only the wages were taken into account by full-time workers. Bearing in mind that just work part-time activities lower wages are paid as full-time work activities, the real wage dispersion is will go beyond these values.

Source: OECD Employment Outlook 2007

In 1995, the wages of an employee in the upper quantile was 2.79 times as high as the wage of a Geringverdieners ( Quantilrelation 90/10). This corresponds according to the general definition, the upper quantile (90 ) the high -skilled, the lower quantile (10 ) the low-skilled. This distance increased in 10 years to 3.13.

In 1995, the wage of a worker in the ninetieth percentile 1.79 times more than the median was, in 2005, 1.84 times more ( Quantilrelation 90/50 ).

1.56 times more earned the average wage earner compared to the low-paid in 1995., This increased to 1.7 in 2005 ( Quantilrelation 50/10 ).

Der Tagesspiegel made in April 2008 that Germany with a share of 22 % low-wage workers in continental European comparison is at the top, which received this less than 2/3 of the average wage.

The median income and average income

Lined up are the people whose income is examined in a series on the particular level of income, so the median income is that income which is located in the center of the row. The median income is over the median income for robust with respect to statistical distortions. A large difference between mean and average income indicates a highly unequal distribution of income.

2008 was according to figures from the DIW, the average disposable income per person 1252 euro with a Gini index of 0.29.

The following table shows the situation in net income of 28.3 million taxpayers in 2003. Grease is printed the column in which the income earners of all occupational groups are considered together. Income inequality shown by the fact that the top 10% already 31.59 % of total income received, the top 5 % already 21.28 %, the top 1% already 8.11%. Conversely, the bottom 50 % received only 18.71 %, which is less than the top 5 %.

Causes

The OECD sees the following causes of growing income inequality in Germany:

" The rising inequality of labor market induced. On the one hand took the spread of wages and salaries since 1995 drastically - nota bene, after a long period of stability. On the other hand, the number of households increased without any earned income to 19% - the highest in the OECD. Similarly, the increase in inequality on changes in household structure is due, such as the growth of single-person households and single parents. Despite ongoing government redistribution through taxes and transfers, the gap between rich and poor increased. Transfers are less targeted on people with lower incomes than in other countries. "

A factor of increasing inequality in Germany was the reunion. The pay scale in West Germany overlapped in the lower part to the upper portion of the wage scale in the GDR. Accordingly, the wage dispersion in the reunified Germany, whose pay scale is again within the global wage scale changes. The compensation processes that bring the opening of existing barriers between the countries concerned, facilitating the diffusion formerly local conditions around the globe. This includes increasing in the area above and below the previously valid for Germany with scale.

Surveys

National

The Federal Statistical Office determined in numerous studies that are repeated on a regular basis, the income of the population. Notably, these are the five-yearly solid income and expenditure survey (EVS ) and the continuous household bills (LWR ) that are created during the other years. In addition, every three years created in cooperation with the countries wage and income tax statistics and the four yearly Structure of Earnings Survey (until 2006 at irregular intervals as salary and wage structure survey, short GLS ).

The IAB Employment Sample ( IABS ) of the Federal Employment Agency was founded in 1975 and also published microdata sets that include regional data. The records included studies based on daily earnings of full-time employees. Self-employed, civil servants, part-time and low-wage workers are not covered in the IABS.

The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP ) is a panel survey, which is conducted for Economic Research since 1984 by the German Institute. It publishes hourly wages of workers of all groups and supplemented these with numerous socio-economic details. A disadvantage is the relatively small sample size.

The Institute's work and qualifications of the University of Duisburg -Essen, under the title Social Policy -date tables and graphics among others on income distribution. Here, several of the aforementioned surveys are analyzed and summarized.

Internationally

The Employment statistics database of the OECD is the basis of the published annual OECD Employment Outlook. It contains a large database on labor market outcomes in OECD countries.

Results of a European Structure of Earnings Survey published by the European Structure of Earnings Survey (SES ) in 1995. The SES is composed of national statistical offices and analyzes data from 27 Member States of the European Union and two countries of the European Free Trade Association ( EFTA) from.

The International Labour Organisation ( ILO) provides knowledge in the work area in the LABORSTA database with extensive labor market statistics.

For most data collected, the World Income Inequality Database ( WIID ) of the World Institute for Development Economics Research ( WIDER) of the United Nations University (UNU ).

Bibliography

Christina Anselmann: top incomes and inequality. The development of the personal income distribution in Germany, 2013 ISBN 978-3-7316-1004-5
Poverty and Wealth Report of the Federal Government (2008), circumstances in Germany - The 3rd Poverty and Wealth Report of the Federal Government, pp. 18ff. (Polling December 29, 2013 )
(2005), circumstances in Germany - The 2nd Poverty and Wealth Report of the Federal Government, pp. 102ff. (Polling December 29, 2013 )

Redistribution of income and wealth Progression Theil-Index

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