ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the impact of class and family structures on income inequality. Disposable income includes not only wages, salaries, income from self-employment, and property income, but also cash transfers received from the welfare state. In Finland, equivalent disposable income inequality decreased considerably between 1966 and 1976, and the decrease continued from 1976 to 1985, although less rapidly. The most dramatic change in the effect of class on income took place between 1971 and 1976 in the relative equivalent income of the upper white-collar group: It declined from 172 to 132 percent, with a similar drop in the equivalent income. The unadjusted income differences of the various household types have tended to increase, while the respective differences in equivalent income levels have tended to become smaller. The overall impact of changes in class structure was shown to have an equalizing effect on income distribution.
