Immigration and income inequality

Four income inequality measures (Gini-coefficient, 90/10-decile ratio, and two generalized entropy indices) are applied to analyse immigrants’ income position relative to natives in a comparative perspective. Administrative data is used for Denmark, while survey data is used for Germany. We find higher inequality among immigrants than natives in Denmark, but vice versa for Germany. Over the period 1984-2003, this inequality gap has narrowed in both countries. At the same time, the contribution of immigrants to overall inequality has increased systematically, primarily caused by the increased share of immigrants in the population.