Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

’Х’ axis, except for the last case where it would
reach 1. The further the Lorenz Curve is from the
diagonal (shifted to the right), the higher inequality
is– resources concentrated on fewer people.
Based on the graph above, it can be concluded
that there is no significant deviation of the Lorenz
Curve from the diagonal, which suggests equal
distribution of income among the population. One
of the most commonly used measures of inequality
is the Gini coefficient of inequality, which
represents the ratio between the area delimited by
the Lorenz curve and its inversion and the area of
the unit square (number 1). In the case of absolute
equal distribution (when everyone has equal access
to resources, taking into account needs) the value of
this indicator is 0 (zero), while in the extreme case
(when all available resources would be owned by
one person only), this coefficient has a value of 1
(one). Using the Gini coefficient, the inequality of
incomes using an equivalence scale amounts to
0.37, i.e. 37.03 percent.
Graph 2.3. Lorenz Curve for Income
График 5.3. Лоренцова крива прихода
1.0
Cumulative share of income
Кумулативни удео прихода
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Кумулативни удео становништва
Cumulative share of population
2.4. The expenditure aggregate
The monthly expenditure of the average
Serbian household amounts to 52 843 dinars. The
largest share in expenditure includes the costs of
food and beverages – 33.7 percent , which are
followed by the costs of housing, water, power
supply, gas and other fuels -18.6 percent, the costs
of transportation services 8.5 percent, costs for other
goods and services - 7.8 percent. The monthly
expenditure of the households in urban areas
amounts to 57 441 dinars, while the expenditure of
households in other areas reaches 45 940 dinars.
Income and expenditure
35