Women, Men and the Redistribution of Income

This paper explores the implications of examining the effect of policy changes on individual incomes rather than household incomes. Conceptual problems arise from the treatment of collective resources and responsibilities, particularly children. These are dealt with in a manner that is transparent with the aim of establishing a practical method of analysing policy at the individual (and gender‐specific) level. Two policy‐related issues are examined in this framework: the impact of a minimum wage and the effect of introducing a minimum pension guarantee. In each case, the implications of choosing the individual as the income unit are examined and analysis of the issue by gender is presented. JEL classification : C81, D31, H55, J16.