Relative Income Changes and an Identification of Growth Pattern

The paper proposes a method of identification of a growth pattern by analyzing the direct relation between income (or some other measure of wealth) of the poorer and of the richer. To this end the basic idea underlying Zenga’s concept of inequality measurement is applied. The proposed relative income change measures allude to the intuitive concept of the proportion of two averages: upper and lower – with respect to a given quantile of the income distribution. In this sense it directly refers to the relation of the poor and the non-poor. The relative income change measure is then applied to the analysis of income growth pattern in selected countries, using the data from Luxembourg Income Study Database.