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IMPUTED RENT AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION
Author(s) -
Yates Judith
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
review of income and wealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1475-4991
pISSN - 0034-6586
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4991.1994.tb00044.x
Subject(s) - income distribution , economics , distribution (mathematics) , net national income , unit (ring theory) , comprehensive income , public economics , household income , point (geometry) , survey data collection , econometrics , gross income , geography , statistics , inequality , mathematical analysis , mathematics education , mathematics , archaeology , tax reform , geometry , state income tax
This paper uses unit record survey data to implement a 1977 United Nations recommendation that imputed rent from owner‐occupied housing be included in household income in statistics collected for income distribution purposes. The conceptual difficulties associated with employing the recommended National Accounts approach are highlighted by a comparison of the methodologies used to impute housing income for National Accounts purposes, for use in income distribution analyses and for income taxation purposes. The empirical difficulties associated with implementing the preferred approach are also discussed. The results reinforce the significant impact owner‐occupation has on the well‐being of many households and point to the importance of a disaggregate analysis of its distributional impact.