Analysis of income Inequality at National and Household Levels in Bangladesh”

Although the scenario of income inequality at national level received much attention of the researchers and policy makers, income inequality at household level remained mostly overlooked. Available studies indicate that beyond the national scenario, distribution of income among households differs across locations as well as occupations. This study is an effort to investigate the extent of income inequality in Bangladesh both at national and household levels. The study is mainly based on primary data, which are collected from 200 households of Nilphamari and Rajshahi Districts of Bangladesh. Secondary data are also used in the analyses that are collected from different published sources. In this study, Income Gini Coefficient, under the conceptual framework of the Lorenz Curve, is estimated to measure the extent of income inequality among the households. The analysis of secondary data shows that income inequality in Bangladesh has increased from 36.0% in 1973 to 46.0% in 2010 to 48.0% in 2016 at national level with shares of income of households belonging to first, second and third quintiles declined over the years. From the analysis of primary data, it is found that there is significant inequality in household income in the Northern districts of Bangladesh. The value of Gini index in the whole study area is found as 0.408, which is 0.406 in case of Nilphamari district and 0.353 in case of Rajshahi district. It is also found that the richest 20% households in the study sample are receiving more than half of the total income. Looking across the occupations, it is found that income inequality is higher among the non-farm based and self-employed households compared to other groups of households