Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt

Autores
Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo; Piketty, Thomas
Año de publicación
2014
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
This paper discusses the data limitations associated with the measurement of top incomes and inequality in the Middle East, with special emphasis to the case of Egypt. It has been noted that high inequality might have contributed to the Arab spring revolt movement. Some studies have argued however that measured inequality in Middle East countries is not particularly large by international standards, and that popular discontent mostly reflects the perceived level of inequality, and the perceived (un)fairness of the distribution. In this paper we review the evidence and present new estimates. We come with two main conclusions. First, data sources at the national level are insufficient to derive reliable estimates of top income shares in a country like Egypt(or in other Middle East countries). One would need reliable fiscal sources in order to make a precise comparison with other emerging or developed countries. Unfortunately, such sources are lacking in most of the region. Next, and irrespective of these uncertainties on within-country inequalities, there is no doubt that income inequality is extremely large at the level of the Middle East taken as whole-simply because regional inequality in per capita GNP is particularly large. According to our benchmark estimates, the share of total Middle East income accruing to the top 10% income receivers is currently 55% (vs. 48% in the United States, 36% in Western Europe, and 54% in South Africa). Under plausible assumptions, the top 10% income share could be well over 60%, and the top 1% share might exceed 25% (vs. 20% in the United States, 11% in Western Europe, and 17% in South Africa). Popular discontent might reflect the fact that perceptions about inequality and the (un)fairness of the distribution are determined by regional (and/or global) inequality, and not only on national inequality.
Fil: Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo. Paris School of Economics; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Piketty, Thomas. Paris School of Economics; Francia
Materia
Egypt
Inequality
Middle East
Top Incomes
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/36495

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spelling Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of EgyptGonzalez Alvaredo, FacundoPiketty, ThomasEgyptInequalityMiddle EastTop Incomeshttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.2https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5This paper discusses the data limitations associated with the measurement of top incomes and inequality in the Middle East, with special emphasis to the case of Egypt. It has been noted that high inequality might have contributed to the Arab spring revolt movement. Some studies have argued however that measured inequality in Middle East countries is not particularly large by international standards, and that popular discontent mostly reflects the perceived level of inequality, and the perceived (un)fairness of the distribution. In this paper we review the evidence and present new estimates. We come with two main conclusions. First, data sources at the national level are insufficient to derive reliable estimates of top income shares in a country like Egypt(or in other Middle East countries). One would need reliable fiscal sources in order to make a precise comparison with other emerging or developed countries. Unfortunately, such sources are lacking in most of the region. Next, and irrespective of these uncertainties on within-country inequalities, there is no doubt that income inequality is extremely large at the level of the Middle East taken as whole-simply because regional inequality in per capita GNP is particularly large. According to our benchmark estimates, the share of total Middle East income accruing to the top 10% income receivers is currently 55% (vs. 48% in the United States, 36% in Western Europe, and 54% in South Africa). Under plausible assumptions, the top 10% income share could be well over 60%, and the top 1% share might exceed 25% (vs. 20% in the United States, 11% in Western Europe, and 17% in South Africa). Popular discontent might reflect the fact that perceptions about inequality and the (un)fairness of the distribution are determined by regional (and/or global) inequality, and not only on national inequality.Fil: Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo. Paris School of Economics; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Piketty, Thomas. Paris School of Economics; FranciaCEPR2014-07info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/36495Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo; Piketty, Thomas ; Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt; CEPR; CEPR Discussion Paper Series; 7-2014; 1-600265-8003CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=10068info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-03T09:43:47Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/36495instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-03 09:43:47.664CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
title Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
spellingShingle Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo
Egypt
Inequality
Middle East
Top Incomes
title_short Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
title_full Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
title_fullStr Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
title_full_unstemmed Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
title_sort Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo
Piketty, Thomas
author Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo
author_facet Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo
Piketty, Thomas
author_role author
author2 Piketty, Thomas
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Egypt
Inequality
Middle East
Top Incomes
topic Egypt
Inequality
Middle East
Top Incomes
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.2
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv This paper discusses the data limitations associated with the measurement of top incomes and inequality in the Middle East, with special emphasis to the case of Egypt. It has been noted that high inequality might have contributed to the Arab spring revolt movement. Some studies have argued however that measured inequality in Middle East countries is not particularly large by international standards, and that popular discontent mostly reflects the perceived level of inequality, and the perceived (un)fairness of the distribution. In this paper we review the evidence and present new estimates. We come with two main conclusions. First, data sources at the national level are insufficient to derive reliable estimates of top income shares in a country like Egypt(or in other Middle East countries). One would need reliable fiscal sources in order to make a precise comparison with other emerging or developed countries. Unfortunately, such sources are lacking in most of the region. Next, and irrespective of these uncertainties on within-country inequalities, there is no doubt that income inequality is extremely large at the level of the Middle East taken as whole-simply because regional inequality in per capita GNP is particularly large. According to our benchmark estimates, the share of total Middle East income accruing to the top 10% income receivers is currently 55% (vs. 48% in the United States, 36% in Western Europe, and 54% in South Africa). Under plausible assumptions, the top 10% income share could be well over 60%, and the top 1% share might exceed 25% (vs. 20% in the United States, 11% in Western Europe, and 17% in South Africa). Popular discontent might reflect the fact that perceptions about inequality and the (un)fairness of the distribution are determined by regional (and/or global) inequality, and not only on national inequality.
Fil: Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo. Paris School of Economics; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Piketty, Thomas. Paris School of Economics; Francia
description This paper discusses the data limitations associated with the measurement of top incomes and inequality in the Middle East, with special emphasis to the case of Egypt. It has been noted that high inequality might have contributed to the Arab spring revolt movement. Some studies have argued however that measured inequality in Middle East countries is not particularly large by international standards, and that popular discontent mostly reflects the perceived level of inequality, and the perceived (un)fairness of the distribution. In this paper we review the evidence and present new estimates. We come with two main conclusions. First, data sources at the national level are insufficient to derive reliable estimates of top income shares in a country like Egypt(or in other Middle East countries). One would need reliable fiscal sources in order to make a precise comparison with other emerging or developed countries. Unfortunately, such sources are lacking in most of the region. Next, and irrespective of these uncertainties on within-country inequalities, there is no doubt that income inequality is extremely large at the level of the Middle East taken as whole-simply because regional inequality in per capita GNP is particularly large. According to our benchmark estimates, the share of total Middle East income accruing to the top 10% income receivers is currently 55% (vs. 48% in the United States, 36% in Western Europe, and 54% in South Africa). Under plausible assumptions, the top 10% income share could be well over 60%, and the top 1% share might exceed 25% (vs. 20% in the United States, 11% in Western Europe, and 17% in South Africa). Popular discontent might reflect the fact that perceptions about inequality and the (un)fairness of the distribution are determined by regional (and/or global) inequality, and not only on national inequality.
publishDate 2014
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014-07
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/36495
Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo; Piketty, Thomas ; Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt; CEPR; CEPR Discussion Paper Series; 7-2014; 1-60
0265-8003
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/36495
identifier_str_mv Gonzalez Alvaredo, Facundo; Piketty, Thomas ; Measuring Top Incomes and Inequality in the Middle East: Data Limitations and Illustration with the Case of Egypt; CEPR; CEPR Discussion Paper Series; 7-2014; 1-60
0265-8003
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
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