Inequalities: Open and Hidden,Measured and Immeasurable

Abstract

The paper discusses which inequalities can, and which cannot, be measured by the economist's data. Among the inequalities of wealth, income and consumption, the second is shown to be the most relevant, although it must be corrected for the redistributive effects of taxation and transfer payments and then summed with both the distribution of public goods and services and the distribution of freely rendered non market private services. Beyond the distribution of these measured and measurable components of satisfaction, account is also taken of nonmeasurable sources of welfare, such as work and leisure. Their distribution is shown to be positively correlated with the unequal distribution of money income, and guesses are made concerning their relative importance.