The inequality (or the growth) we measure: data gaps and the distribution of incomes

Facundo Gonzalez Alvaredo, Mauricio De Rosa, Ignacio Flores and Marc Morgan

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Large gaps exist between income estimates from inequality studies and macroeconomic statistics, questioning our representation of flows and the relevance of economic growth. We take stock of these gaps by confronting multiple datasets in Latin America, finding that surveys account for around half of macroeconomic income over the past twenty years. Less than half of this gap is due to conceptual differences, the remainder coming from growing measurement issues, which mainly concern capital incomes. Top tails in administrative data and surveys present diverging averages, especially for non-wage incomes, and different shapes. We discuss implications for both inequality levels and trends.

Keywords: surveys; national accounts; administrative data; data gaps; income distribution; Latin America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D30 E01 N36 O54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2025-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:128509

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