Abstract
In this paper we undertake a fairly straightforward quantitative assessment of trends in inequality in the distribution of consumption expenditure and of household wealth in India. While it is customary to employ, in applied work, only relative measures whose value basis is seldom subjected to any serious critical scrutiny, the present paper assesses inequality in terms of both absolute and intermediate measures, in addition to relative measures. It is found that our judgment of inequality trends is indeed influenced by the particular conception – relative, absolute or intermediate – of inequality that we may be inclined to favour. In particular, intermediate measures avoid the arguably “extreme” values underlying relative and absolute measures, and if we go by intermediate rather than relative indices, then we find that inequality in India must be judged to be increasing rather than essentially trend-less, as relative approaches to assessing inequality suggest.
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