Is there a dichotomy in the radio loudness distribution of quasars?

We present a new approach to tackling the issue of radio loudness in quasars. We constrain a (simple) prescription for the intrinsic distribution of radio‐to‐optical ratios by comparing properties of Monte Carlo simulated samples with those of observed optically selected quasars. We find strong evidence for a dependence of the radio luminosity on the optical one, even though with a large scatter. The dependence of the fraction of radio‐loud quasars on apparent and absolute optical magnitudes results in a selection effect related to the radio and optical limits of current surveys. The intrinsic distribution of the radio‐to‐optical ratios shows a peak at R * 1.4 ∼ 0.3 , with only ≲5 per cent of objects being included in a high‐ R * 1.4 tail, which identifies the radio‐loud regime. No lack or deficit of sources – but only a steep transition region – is present between the radio‐loud and radio‐quiet populations at any R * 1.4 . Briefly, we discuss possible origins for this behaviour (e.g. an absence of jets in radio‐quiet sources, a large range of radiative radio efficiency, different lifetimes for the accretion and jet ejection phenomena, etc.).