Inequalities, redistribution and the impact of unemployment: recent trends and effects of the economic and financial crisis

Abstract

The authors of this article offer a brief comparison between the level of income inequality in Portugal and that in the universe of EU-28 countries. In addition to describing the fundamental indicators, they quickly characterise the wage inequality in this country. In a second section, the article takes a comparative look at the effect of the Portuguese State’s actions and redistributive capacity. Finally, the authors present an exploratory analysis, with reference to the social impacts which the current economic/financial crisis is having on the variation in the statistical relationship between the rise in unemployment on the one hand and the levels of income inequalities in the European countries on the other.