INEQUALITY OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN EUROPE

Abstract: Internationally, too many countries pursue moderate wage policies with the risk of shrinking the growth of the world economy, but increasing incomes is a necessary measure to maintain an adequate standard of living. In 2015, the gap between the average income inequality of the European Union (5.16) and of Romania (8.32) was at the highest level (3.16), of all the studied period (2007-2023). Starting from 2019, the income inequality index in Romania began to decrease to 7.08, then in 2020, it reached 6.62 and 5.83 in 2023, reducing the gap with the European Union level which was 4.76 in 2023. At the same time, for 2023, in the ranking of the top five countries with the highest index of inequality of income distribution, Bulgaria has the highest rate of inequality of income distribution with 6.61, followed by Lithuania with 6, 32, Latvia with 6.32, Romania with 5.83 and Portugal with 5.60. Between 2016 and 2024, the minimum monthly gross wage in Romania increased by 320%, from 232 euros/month to 743 euros/month. Keywords: income inequality, monthly national minimum wages JEL Classification: D39, D63, E24, E25