Impact of the transformation of social sphere on income situation of Slovak households

Inequality in the majority of Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) during the pre-transition period was traditionally low. The income distrib ution was compressed, mostly due to centralised wage-setting, low returns t o skills/education and major restrictions on private ownership, which more- less eliminated possibilities to receive other than social or labour income . Transition to a market economy was in many CEEC accompanied by a sharp in crease in income inequality. In this paper we present our results on inequa lity in Slovakia and its development over time since the year 1989. We use several standard inequality measures (Theil T, Theil N, Gini index and coef ficient of variation) and we apply them to both income and expenditure conc epts of inequality.