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Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
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Economic inequalities in the EU - Key trends and policies

Details

Publication date
9 September 2024
Author
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Description

This paper reviews trends in income inequality in the EU over the last fifteen years and presents a comprehensive framework to assess and monitor income inequalities and related key policy areas. It relies on a three-stages approach, namely considering pre-market, in-market and post-market stages in income inequality in order to present an integrated policy approach. For each of these different stages, specific (proxy) indicators help identifying relevant policy approaches.
Four out of five EU citizens perceive inequality is too high in their country, a proportion that has remained fairly stable since 2017. On average in the EU, income inequality levels are broadly back to those from before the double-dip recession of 2009 and 2012. There have been, however, significant fluctuations over the period, as well as some convergence in trends across Member States and different evolutions at the bottom and at the top of the income distribution.
Distributional Impact Assessment (DIA) is presented as a cross-cutting policy tool that can help steering policy change safeguarding fairness, streamlining inequality and poverty reduction considerations in policy making, including in the context of the digital and green transition.

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  • 9 SEPTEMBER 2024
Publication: Economic inequalities in the EU - Key trends and policies