Personal distribution of incomes in Portugal

Abstract

In order to analyse the personal distribution of incomes in Portugal one used the only statistical sources available: the Inquiry to the Family Receipts and the Expenditure of 1967-68 and the Inquiry to the Family Expenditure of 1973-74 (provisional data), both done by the National Institute of Statistics. As the second of those inquiries only covered the first months of 1974, one has no adequate information to characterize the recent situation concerning the personal distribution of incomes, what is a serious limitation because some significant changes occurred in this domain in the last years. Nevertheless, as far as the work incomes are concerned, the statistical series available make possible to know the changes occurred in the meanwhile, what does not happen with other income categories. But one has tried to make reference to those facts that may have had an influence upon the situation of the holders of non-salary incomes in the last three years. The study made by the authors is developed according three main headings: 1) distribution of families and of family receipts per receipt grade; 2) comparative analysis of the distribution of families per receipt grade, in the urban zone and in the rural zone; 3) percentage of the distribution of families per receipt class and per socio-economic category of each head of the house. The use of the inquiries, already referred to, made by the N.I.S. gave rise to some delicate methodological problems; this is the reason why the results one has got must be considered as a mere approach, relatively rough, to the structure of personal distribution of incomes in Portugal.