Real household disposable income per head and gross domestic product per head: Social Trends 32
Real household disposable income per head and gross domestic product per head: Social Trends 32
Dataset Name:
ST32501
Type of Dataset:
Spreadsheet
Title:
Real household disposable income per head and gross domestic product per head: Social Trends 32
Last Updated:
24/6/02
Description:
The amount of income available for distribution to households depends on the overall level of economic activity. The most commonly used measure of economic activity is gross domestic product (GDP), sometimes also referred to as the amount of 'value added' generated within the economy of a country. The total income generated is divided between individuals, companies and other organisations (for example in the form of profits retained for investment), and government (in the form of taxes on production). Analysis of the trends in GDP may be found in the final section of this chapter.
Household income is derived not only directly from economic activity in the form of wages and salaries and self-employment income but also through transfers such as social security benefits. It is then subject to a number of deductions such as income tax, local taxes, and contributions towards pensions and national insurance. The amount of income remaining is referred to as household disposable income - the amount people have available to spend or save - and it is this measure which is commonly used to describe people's 'economic well-being'.
Household disposable income per head, adjusted for inflation, doubled between 1971 and 2000. During the 1970s and early 1980s growth was somewhat erratic, and in some years there were small year-on-year falls, such as in 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981 and 1982. However, since then there has been growth each year, with the exception of 1998 when there was a very slight fall when adjusted for inflation. Over the period since 1971, a comparison of the patterns of growth of household disposable income and GDP per head shows that there has been a small shift between the shares of households and organisations in GDP in favour of households. Between 1999 and 2000, real household disposable income per head grew by 3.9 per cent compared with GDP per head growth of 2.4 per cent.
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Office for National Statistics: Social Trends link page
