Inequality of Earnings and Housing Costs - Developments Between and Within Regions
Household wellbeing is strongly influenced by changes in income and housing costs. The development of inequalities in both variables largely determines the development of living conditions between households. In this paper, we look at inequality trends between 2008 and 2018 from a regional perspective – between and within regions. While earning inequality has generally declined slightly, it is rising within Germany's largest cities. On the other hand, inequality in rents has declined within those cities, corresponding to specifically strong price increases in poorer areas. Thus, households in those poor neighborhoods suffer from below-average earning development, while the main costs caused by rents in increase at an above-average rate. The results show that inequality analyses that cannot reflect inner-regional developments can hardly provide a realistic impression on living situations.