What do these observations imply about whether everyone in Singapore can meet their basic needs? What do they tell us about inequality?
When the lowest income households have higher expenditure than income, what does this imply about inequality and unmet needs? How do we put trends of mobile phone and aircon ownership in perspective? Ng Kok Hoe and Teo You Yenn offer insight into the latest household income and expenditure data
SINGAPORE (Aug 13): New data on household income and expenditure in 2017/18 has sparked much discussion, with two points drawing partcular attention. First, the lowest income quintile group was the only group whose expenditure exceeded income during this period. Second, there appears to be increasingly widespread ownership of certain consumer items, such as mobile telephones and air-conditioning, across all income groups.
