Income (In)Justice in the Czech Republic

The present paper deals with the income situation of households in the Czech Republic between 2005 and 2011. The subject of observation is disposable income per equalized member. We attempt to assess income inequality based on a Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve. Another point of observation is the development of the poverty level. The poverty gap is assessed using a Sen index. Special attention is paid to groups of households according to economic activity (employed, self-employed, pensioner, unemployed, other). Using Scheffe’s method of contrast, specific pairs of demonstrable differences between levels of economic activity are detected. The poverty of individual groups is assessed based on poverty level and risk-of-poverty index. The performed analyses showed that the total incomes of households within the given period were increasing, even though the year-on-year increments were gradually decreasing. The most significant increase was observed in the incomes of unemployed people, the least significant increase in the incomes of self-employed people. Social policy in the Czech Republic does mitigate poverty; however, it does not prevent the unfair development of incomes for various groups of households.