Income inequality is one of the big issues in 21st century. Unequal distribution of income in society is considered to be an obstacle to economic growth. The income allocation of a country’s population can be measured by a Gini coefficient. The value of Gini coefficient can be between 0 and 1 and used to define the income gap between the rich and the poor. The value 0 shows perfect equality and value 1 illustrates perfect inequality.
According to recent polls, the highest earning fourth of families in the US earned around 60% of all income, while the wealthiest in the world earned about 90% of all global wealth. Such a big gap between the rich and the poor is often associated to various reasons ranging from social mobility and life expectancy to transitions in the global economy and current political phenomenons; such as global terrorism, arguably taken into consideration. Piketty, highlights this phenomenon in his seventh chapter, titled, “Inequality and Concentration: Preliminary Bearings” . In this chapter, he puts emphasis on micro-phenomenon of income split through the transition from collective economic level to that of ‘individual level” (Piketty 237). As such, Piketty
Rise in Social inequality have been proven by the wide salary gap between the rich and the poor. For instance (Sawhill & Morton, 2008) states that during the years between 1979 and 2004 “After tax income of the poorest one- fifth of Americans increased by 9%, the richest one- fifth of Americans saw an increase of 69%”. Almost half of the total household salary was earned by “Twenty percent of the richest households in the United States in 2004”as claimed by (Arcs & Zimmerman, 2008), while According to (Haskins, n.d.) 70% of income was gained by 10% of the richest
On the other hand, Singapore’s economic model would further reinforce the idea of capitalism being an ideal economic model firmly in Adam Smith. Singapore is a prime example of the ability of capitalism in transforming an economic backwater to a first class nation. It has an astounding average rate of GDP growth in the late 1990s to the early 2000s and is acknowledged as one of the freest economies in the world. (Sim, S., 2001) However, Karl Marx would argue that this is only one side of the story. Over the years, problems associated with a capitalistic economy as pointed out by Marx in the Communist Manifesto, have begun to
Income inequality is refers to the unequal distribution of household and individual income in an uneven manner among a population. From the year of 1980 to 2010, we found that the United States has a relatively high level of income inequality which it faced the greatest economic challenge in the over past decades, the economic pie has indicates that there are a relative gap between the richest people and the poor people in the country. Income inequality has surged as an economic and political issues that leads inequality has poses a major threat in the global issues. Besides, Income inequality has become progressively obvious since in the year of 1980. For example, the distribution of income had 30 to 35% of national income going to the top 10% of earners, the top 10% earners has increased to the 50% , which create a huge gap between the high income workers and low income workers.
Income inequality is the “defining challenge of our time”, with a higher number of people struggling in work just to get by with pay no more than what they receive a decade ago, while some unemployed due unequal opportunities that exists as said by current president of the United States of America, Barrack Obama (Warren, 2014). “A State divided into a small number of rich and a large number of poor will always develop a government manipulated by the rich to protect the amenities represented by their property.” (Laski, 1967, p. 157). This can be applied to Thailand where poverty in Bangkok is at an all time low of just 1% while more than a fifth of the population in the North and northeast are poor (Zachau, 2013). Thailand would be a better nation if people have the same opportunities and were treated the same way. This could be achieved if the Thai government legislates to distribute income evenly as it will help the economy to grow, increase opportunities and social status of the lower class.
"The Gini coefficient provides an index to measure inequality," says Antonio Cabrales, a professor of economics at University College London. This map can help us to understand how the level of inequality differ in the world. The Gini coefficient has risen a lot in some rich countries since the 1980s. But this was not universal. In fact for many years, Latin America had
The region of Latin America has invariably been classified as having the highest levels of economic inequality in the world, with its nations characterized by extreme disparities in the distribution of wealth, income and consumption. The particular unequal distribution of productive assets, including land, skilled labor and capital (Huber and Stephens, 2012) is said to reflect an inverse pyramid (Hoffman and Centeno, 2003). It can be argued that the continent 's contemporary patterns of economic inequality cannot be fully interpreted without examining the historical processes of development and waves of globalization. Therefore, this essay will seek to examine the impact of the polarized political, economic and social institutions and power
Social Class and Inequality: Video Reviews for Lesson Eight Introduction There is no denying that social inequality is getting worse in the US. The Gini index, which is the most widely used measurement of income disparity, used to be 34.6 in 1979; now it sits at above 40 (GINI Index for the United States, 2018). To put this into perspective, the number makes the US the 4th most unequal country—trailing behind Mexico, Chile and Turkey—in 37 major economies surveyed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD Income Distribution Database (IDD): Gini, poverty, income, Methods and Concepts, n.d.). What are the consequences of social inequality in developed countries like the US? Who does it affect?
Income inequality is the extent to which income is unevenly distributed among a given population. (Formson, 2011) argues that income inequalities remain high in Botswana, with 20% of the wealthiest earning 67% of the total national income, while 40% of the poorest earn only 2.8% of the national income. Income inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient-an economic tool that measures the extent to which income distribution among households and individuals differ. Botswana, which has been regarded as an “economic miracle”, is, according to latest figures from the World Bank, the third most unequal country in the world with a Gini index of 60.5. (Letsididi, 2015) Botswana has average income earnings of P4000 per month while those on Ipelegeng scheme for instance, earn as little as P450 and as a result, the