Intra-Sectoral and Inter-Sectoral Factors in Distribution of Income

While in a complete study of income structure, estimation must be supplemented by analysis, estimation and analysis are two distinct stages of enquiry. The two need to be kept distinct not merely because estimation is a task by itself. The intra-sectoral and inter-sectoral factors, in terms of which income structure needs to be analysed, cannot be directly used to build the overall income structure if the latter is not thought of in terms of a particular index like coefficient of variation. The influence of structural changes on the size distribution can be more fruitfully analysed by decomposing aggregate income by types of payments rather than by industrial origin. To the extent that the necessary data are not available, as an approximation the changes in the share of the top income group may be analysed in terms of intra-type and inter-type shifts.