Income inequality can be measured by the distribution of income. A common method of measuring the distribution of income is to use quintiles. What does this mean?
A) each quintile represents the number of people earning the same level of income.
B) each quintile represents one fifth of the total population and the percent of total income received by that fifth.
C) each quintile represents one fifth of the total income or GDP and the percent of the population earning that fifth.
D) each quintile represents 5 percent of the population.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Each quintile represents one fifth (20%) of the total population and the percent of total income received by that fifth. For example, if the top quintile receives 50% of the total income, it means that the top 20% of the population (in terms of income) receive half of the total income earned in the country. The bottom quintile would represent the poorest 20% of the population and their share of the total income earned.

Income Inequality Can Be Measured by the Distribution of Income