Trends in Total and Subgroup Income Inequality in the Singaporean Workforce

This paper examines the trends in income inequality in Singapore using Labour Force Survey data from 1974 to 1998. Trends in inequality within and between age, educational and occupational groups are studied using the Theil inequality index. A new method based on the Gini coefficient is also utilized to explore the nature of inter‐temporal variation in within‐group inequality. Any increase within age‐group inequality is due to changing income shares, while the decrease in educational‐group inequality comes from decreases in within‐group inequality. The contribution of intereducation inequality has also increased over the years, as has inter‐occupational inequality.