Inequality, poverty and mobilitychoosing income or consumption as welfare indicators

  1. Gradín Lago, Carlos Manuel
  2. Cantó Sánchez, Olga
  3. Río Otero, Coral del
Revista:
Investigaciones económicas

ISSN: 0210-1521

Ano de publicación: 2008

Volume: 32

Número: 2

Páxinas: 169-200

Tipo: Artigo

Outras publicacións en: Investigaciones económicas

Resumo

The economic literature has discussed at large about the best indicator of individual welfare: income or consumption. The implications of this choice are not only a matter for theoretical discussion but turn out to be very relevant for empirical analysis. Up to now, the debate has focused on the e..ects on distributional statics and avoided discussing or o..ering evidence of the effects on mobility or poverty dynamics. In this paper we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both resource measurements and analyze the e..ects of the choice on distributional dynamics by presenting empirical evidence on Spain obtained from a rotating longitudinal survey.