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Income Inequality in America, Essay Example

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Income Inequality in America. Is it a problem and how can it be fixed?

The fact that income inequality is a problem in the United States is undeniable. Claims of the widened income gap between rich Americans and poor Americans, in addition to the diminishing middle class, is a cause for concern (Yates 1). The income inequality is one of the worse political and economic problems the United States faces (Piketty and Saez 1-3). It causes significant problems to social and political stability. It is also an indicator of national decline. Indeed, it is based on this premise that, this essay examines whether income inequality in America is a problem, as well as how it can be fixed.

Income inequality leads to political change. As Saez and Zucman (1-6) explain, loss of income by the middle class compared to the top-earners leads to political change. During the 2000s, many businesses emerged seeking political offices, as they catered for nearly 30 times more employees than the trade unions. Between the year 2000 and 2010, business interest groups spent $492 million on labor, and nearly $28.6 billion on sponsoring activism. This led to the rise of political setting the business groups dominated (Smith 3-5).

Income inequality has adverse effects on democracy. Some scholars have considered that income inequality is not compatible with real democracy (Milanovic 1). This is since creating a disparity between wealthy and poor is historically the main cause of most revolution. Indeed, it is commented that the political system in the United States faces serious threats of drifting towards a kind of oligarchy by influencing the affluent, corporations, and special interest groups. Even though, income inequality may not have impact on economic growth, the action by the government may reduce the current levels. This raises tax rates on the wealthy. It may also cause political dispute or friction – between the poor and the rich.

Income inequality contributes to national poverty. Greater income inequality is likely to encourage greater rates of poverty, as under such situations, income shifts from those in the lower income bracket to those in the upper-income bracket. Saez and Zucman (1-6) argue that when wealth remains in upper income bracket, it may lead to political revolutions and policy reforms to offset the impacts that induce poverty. This has been the trend over the decade (Economist 1). The gap in earnings has also increased over the past five years. Current statistics from the U.S. Census shows that in 2010, the wealthiest 20 percent of entire households was allocated 50.2 percent of the sum household-income, compared to the poorest 20 percent, which received 3.3 percent. In the 1980s, the income shares of the richest households received 44.1 percent. The poorest got 4.2 percent. This shows rising inequality and poverty. Further statistics indicates that individuals in the least-affluent households lost nearly 21.4 percent of their income share. On the other hand, the most-affluent households witnessed an income rise of nearly 13.8 percent. Conversely, the remaining two poorest quintiles lost income (Economist 1).

Income inequality leads to political polarization. As Political Research Quarterly establishes, income inequality is connected to the current political polarization in the United States. In its 2013 study, Political Research Quarterly established that officials who were elected tended respond to the whims of the officials within the upper-income bracket, as a result ignoring the needs of people within the lower income group. The analysis provided by Martin and Harris (1) show that, income inequality is connected to the extent to which the House of Representatives polarization has always voted.

Income inequality also leads to social stratification. Martin and Harris (1) show that class divisions have mainly resulted due to income inequality. This has led to class warfare where the rich rally around the rich and the poor rally around the poor to gain political emancipation. Hence, the rich tend to create an own virtual country, which in their perception should be a self-contained world that is complete with first-rate social services, separate economy, and infrastructure. Indeed, the gap between poor and the rich is widening more in the United States than most advanced country. A growing consensus, for that reason, is that Americans have placed emphasis on pursuing economic growth instead of income redistribution. This argument is supported by current economists, such as Corak (2013) in his analysis of theorist Alan Krueger’s “Great Gatsby Curve.” In his review, Corak (2013) indicates that nations with greater income inequalities also tend to have a greater proportion of economic advantages and disadvantages. The trend is passed on from parents to their offspring.

On the other hand, some political theorists have argued that income inequality is not a problem, and that the problems have been overstated.

Indeed, Saez and Zucman (1-6) perceive that despite the existence of income inequality, economic growth and equality in terms of getting opportunities should be what matters. Some commentators have also expressed that despite being an American problem, it is also a global problem. As a result, it should not trigger significant policy reforms. Others have also expressed that income inequality has some underlying advantages, leading to a well-functioning and competition-driven economy. Additionally, significant policy reforms to cut out income inequality may lead to policies that lessen the welfare of the more affluent individuals.

A section of researchers also argues that there is no basis in the argument that income inequality slows economic and socio-political growth. Responding to claims that income inequality slows economic and socio-political growth, Petryni (1) argues that inequality is healthy within a free market economy, as it promotes greater competition for economic and political opportunities.

At the same time, wealth inequalities tend to compensate for themselves where an extensive increase in wealth occurs. This also implies that since the income inequalities do not pose significant political or economic problems, forced wealth transfers through taxation may obliterate the income pools needed to create new ventures, leading to further political discord between the poor and the wealthy in the society. Indeed, some recent studies have established a link between high marginal tax rates on high-income earners and greater growth in employment (Petryni 1).

Some political and social theorists also perceived income inequality as valuable and natural characteristic of US economy. The American Enterprise Institute sees the growth of income inequality gap as linked to the growth of opportunities—including the motivation and desire to seek political and social emancipation.

Smith (1) further contends that inequality emanates from the growth of economic prosperity and leads to an improved standard of living of the entire US population. Such incomes, Milanovic (1) argues, are a way of rewarding certain actors in the economy for their maximal investment efforts in the future. Towards this end, therefore, suppressing inequality discourages output and pursuit of political emancipation.

Conclusion and recommendations

Largely, income inequality is a problem in the United States. Income inequality contributes to national poverty. It also has adverse effects on democracy. Further, it leads to political change. Income inequality also leads to political polarization and stratification.

Hence, there is a need for more advanced tax and transfer policies that can align the United States with the other developed nations. This requires tax reforms, such as enacting tax incidence adjustments, subsidizing healthcare and increasing the social security, heavy investment in infrastructure, fortifying labor influence and providing higher education at low costs.

Making education available to more Americans through policies that subsidize cost of education will mean that more Americans have an opportunity for better income. This is since individuals with high education qualification report lower unemployment rate. However, equal job opportunities are also crucial. Public expenditure on welfare should be increased to ensure social and economic security, where the government provides subsidized healthcare. The more affluent members of the society should also be taxed higher than, the poor Americans.

Works Cited

Corak, Miles. “Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 27.3(2013): 79–102

Economist, The. “The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them,” 2006. 11 April 2015, <http://www.economist.com/node/7055911>

Kenworthy, Lane. “Does More Equality Mean Less Economic Growth?” 2007, <http://lanekenworthy.net/2007/12/03/does-more-equality-mean-less-economic-growth/>

Martin, Jonathan and Harris, John. “President Obama, Republicans fight the class war.” Politico, 2012. <http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/barack-obama-class-warrior-90052.html>

Milanovic, Branko. “More or Less.” International Monetary Fund, 2011.

Petryni, Matt. “Advantages & Disadvantages to Income Inequality.” n.d. 11 April 2015, <http://www.ehow.com/info_11415987_advantages-disadvantages-income-inequality.html>

Piketty, Thomas and Saez, Emmanuel. “Income Inequality In The United States, 1913–1998.” The Quarterly Journal Of Economics 28.1 (2003): 1-39

Saez, Emmanuel and Zucman, Gabriel. “Wealth and Inequality in the United States Since 1913: Evidence from Capitalised Income Tax Data.” National Bureau of Economic Research: Cambridge: 2013

Smith, Hedrick. “Who Stole the American Dream.” Random House: New York, 2012. < http://newshare.com/ruleschange/book-notes.pdf>

Todd, Michael. “The Benefits of Wealth Inequality (and Why We Should Not Fear It).” Pacific Standard , 2013. <http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/benefits-wealth-inequality-now-fear-67567>

Yates, Michael. “The Great Inequality.” Monthly Review 63.10 (2012)

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Income Inequality Essay | Essay on Income Inequality for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Income Inequality Essay: Income inequality is a word used to describe an income of a defined geographic area disparity distribution of wealth, “The poor become poorer, the rich become richer.”

Income inequality means that a small number of people residing in specific areas receive the most of the total income generated. In contrast, most people receive only a small share of the total income. When the gap between high income and low-income residences is getting higher, that means increasing income inequality.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Income Inequality for Students and Kids in English

We provide children and students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic “Income Inequality” for reference.

Long Essay on Income Inequality 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Income Inequality is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Income inequality within the majority of developing countries has been rising – in several cases, sharply over the years. In the last two decades, many surveys have seen a significant and symmetric rise in within-country inequality in developing countries. This continuous rise in income inequality in many developing economies has made it hard to reduce poverty and promote economic development. There is a growing consensus that excessive inequality can stunt growth.

The effects are not only economic; there are also political and social consequences of income inequality. Extreme income inequality can also have undesirable political and social consequences. We also see high inequality is linked with higher crime rates, lower life expectancy, and conflicts. In general, income inequality brings about heap loads of trouble, and the causes can be from large demographics and education.

Throughout the years, many economists in India of great reputation have said that despite the so-called Hindu rate of growth of 2% increased to 7% after 1991. But when it comes to income inequality, India is not so innocent. After conducting various surveys last year, it has been established that India’s top 1% population controls up to 58% of the country’s total economic condition, which is reckoned to be higher than the global figure of around 50%.

A common characteristic between low and high income is that the high-income family has two workers. Compared to the household with only one income earners, this doesn’t mean all households with a single income are poor. We also see Upper, and lower-class people tend to marry the same class people. Thus in low and high-income families, they have two low and high-wage earners, respectively. Even more, single parents face financial trouble, especially when there are only women as the family’s economic pillar.

Thus this shows that gender is another reason for income inequality. Technology has resulted in rising income inequality because it has replaced many workers at a factory job. Now more complex operated machine requires technically skilled workers. With advancing technology, skilled labour increases, and non-skilled labourers will get replaced by machines and skilled labour.

Thus, the low pay labour forces appear as the supply is more than demand— for example, cheap labour units from low pay, high growth rate country, China, and Bangladesh. To stabilize this extremity, first, introduce a minimum wage policy. The government should imply a minimum wage to protect the employee while increasing the tax rate to decrease rich people’s income.

However, this policy will have a disadvantage, as higher-wage companies will have less motivation to hire workers while more labourers will be attracted to the workforce. Thus, disequilibrium will occur where labour demand and supply are unequal, and the unemployment rate will rise. After the minimum wage policy, education will be an important way to combat income inequality. The best solution for both causes is giving easy access to education. However, policymakers shouldn’t overstate the potential of education as this will give people equal chances to compete as they will have the same education level.

Short Essay on Income Inequality 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Income Inequality is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Income inequality is a phrase used to describe an income difference between the poor and the rich of a specific geographic area. Income inequality will affect a nation’s social and economic developments. A major cause of income inequality is demographics. The same classes’ income people usually stick to the same classes people. Gender is another cause of income inequality. A female’s income generally is less than a male worker’s.

Also, education and technology is a cause of income inequality. College graduated and professionally skilled people receive a higher income than an uneducated or less-educated worker. Income inequality is unfair. Income inequality will slow down the country’s economic growth, and more poverty as the citizen has low standard and performance.

Income inequality causes political instability, and the country’s economic development slows down. The minimum wage policy will be able to control income equality and reduce poverty. Access to better education is another solution, where all people can have a better education to have equal skill levels and get standard wages.

10 Lines on Income Inequality in English

• Income inequality refers to the gap between low and high-income demographics.
• Income inequality leads to political instability in a country.
• Income inequality also causes a rise in crime rates and stunts economic growth in a country.
• In India, 1% of the demographic controls the earnings of 58% of the mass population.
• Demographics is a reason behind income inequality.
• Education also affects income inequality.
• Introducing a minimum wage policy will ensure to decrease income inequality and provide everyone with standard living.
• However, the minimum wage policy will also have a set of disadvantages.
• Access to better education will also help decrease this income gap as people will have the qualification and choice to work in different firms and earn more.
• We have to solve this issue of income inequality to live a better and fair life.

FAQ’s on Income Inequality Essay

Question 1.  Will taxing the rich fix income inequality?

Answer: Because high-income people pay higher average tax rates than others, federal taxes reduce inequality.

Question 2. Which country has the lowest income inequality?

Answer: According to the GINI index (World Bank estimate), the country ranking number one in the lowest income inequality in South Africa with a rate of 63.00%.

Question 3. How is income inequality reduced?

Answer: Income inequality can be reduced directly by decreasing the income of the richest or increasing the poorest incomes.

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The Impact of Economic Inequality: 4 Best Essay Examples to Inspire Your Writing

Economic inequality, a fundamental issue affecting societies globally, resonates profoundly across various academic fields and public discourses. Understanding and addressing this problem is crucial for a brighter, more equitable future. If you're set to write an essay on this compelling topic, you're in the right place. We’ll explore how to craft a well-researched, cogent essay on economic inequality by presenting four exemplary essays, shedding light on the topic's complexity and significance.

• What is Economic Inequality?

Economic inequality refers to the uneven distribution of wealth and income among individuals and groups within a society. This disparity can manifest in numerous ways, including wage gaps, access to education and healthcare, and overall living standards. Understanding these facets is essential for any essay exploring the topic's breadth and impact.

Causes of Economic Inequality

• Educational Disparities : Access to quality education can vary drastically, influencing individuals' earning potential and job opportunities.
• Technological Advancements : Automation and the digital revolution have displaced numerous jobs, creating a divide between high-skill, high-wage tech jobs and low-skill, low-wage jobs.
• Globalization : While globalization offers economic benefits, it also exacerbates income disparities through unequal wealth distribution.
• Government Policies : Taxation and welfare policies can either mitigate or exacerbate income inequality.
• How to Structure Your Essay on Economic Inequality

Before diving into our examples, let’s cover some core guidelines on structuring your essay:

• Introduction : Grab the reader's attention with a compelling hook. Briefly introduce economic inequality and its relevance.
• Thesis Statement : Clearly state your essay's main argument or purpose.
• Body Paragraphs : Each paragraph should discuss a specific aspect of economic inequality. Use evidence and data to support your claims.
• Conclusion : Summarize your main points and reinforce your thesis. Propose potential solutions or future research directions.
• 1. Example: Analytical Essay on Income Disparity

Introduction

Economic inequality remains a pressing issue globally, undermining social cohesion and economic growth. This essay analyzes the critical factors contributing to income disparity, focusing on educational inequalities, technological advancements, and globalization.

Body Paragraphs

Educational inequalities.

Education plays a pivotal role in determining individuals' income levels. Societies with unequal access to quality education witness broader income gaps. According to a study by the OECD, children from affluent families are more likely to access higher education, leading to better job opportunities and wages. Addressing these educational disparities is key to mitigating income inequality.

Technological Advancements

The advent of automation and artificial intelligence has disproportionately affected low-skill workers, widening the income gap. While high-skill professionals in technology sectors reap considerable benefits, low-skill workers face job displacement and stagnant wages. Policymakers must address these technological impacts to foster equitable economic growth.

Globalization

Globalization has created wealth but also deepened income disparities. Wealth is often concentrated among multinational corporations and high-income individuals, while low-income workers in developing nations face exploitation and poor wages. Implementing fair trade practices and robust labor rights can help bridge this gap.

Economic inequality is a multifaceted issue requiring comprehensive policy responses. By addressing educational disparities, technological impacts, and globalization's uneven effects, societies can strive for a fairer distribution of income and wealth.

• 2. Example: Persuasive Essay on Taxation and Inequality

Income inequality jeopardizes societal stability and economic growth. This persuasive essay argues that progressive taxation policies are essential for reducing income disparity and fostering social justice.

Progressive Taxation's Role

Progressive taxation, where higher income earners pay a larger percentage of their income, can significantly reduce income inequality. Research by the IMF indicates that countries with progressive tax systems experience lower income disparities. Governments should implement and strengthen such tax policies to promote equity.

Redistribution of Wealth

Redistribution of wealth through social welfare programs can bridge the income gap. Countries like Sweden and Denmark, known for their robust welfare systems, exhibit lower levels of income inequality. Policies focusing on healthcare, education, and social services are crucial in this regard.

Addressing Corporate Tax Evasion

Corporate tax evasion undermines efforts to reduce income inequality. Multinational corporations often exploit tax havens, depriving governments of crucial revenue needed for public services. Closing taxation loopholes and enforcing stricter regulations can bolster equity.

Progressive taxation and robust welfare systems are pivotal in combating income inequality. Governments must commit to these policies to ensure a fair and just society for all citizens.

• 3. Example: Comparative Essay on Economic Inequality in Developed vs. Developing Nations

Economic inequality manifests differently across developed and developing nations, influenced by unique socio-economic and political contexts. This essay compares the drivers and manifestations of income disparity in these settings.

Developed Nations

In developed nations, economic inequality often stems from technological advancements and globalization. High-skill, high-wage jobs dominate the tech industry, benefiting those with higher education. However, low-skill workers face job displacement and wage stagnation, exacerbating income disparities.

Developing Nations

In developing nations, economic inequality is primarily driven by limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Corruption and inadequate government policies further exacerbate these issues, hindering efforts to bridge the income gap.

Comparative Analysis

While both developed and developing nations grapple with income disparity, the underlying causes and potential solutions differ. Developed nations must focus on managing technological impacts and ensuring inclusive globalization, while developing nations need to prioritize educational access and robust governance.

Addressing economic inequality requires tailored approaches that consider each nation's unique challenges. By understanding these differences, policymakers can implement effective strategies to reduce income disparity on a global scale.

• 4. Example: Cause and Effect Essay on Economic Inequality and Social Unrest

Economic inequality does not only affect financial stability but also social cohesion. This essay explores how income disparity fuels social unrest and proposes solutions to mitigate these effects.

Link Between Inequality and Social Unrest

High levels of economic inequality often lead to social unrest. Societies with vast income disparities experience increased crime rates, political instability, and public dissatisfaction. Historical examples, such as the French Revolution, highlight how inequality can trigger profound societal changes.

Psychological Impact

Economic inequality adversely affects mental health and social well-being. Individuals in highly unequal societies report higher stress levels, lower life satisfaction, and increased instances of mental health issues. Addressing income disparity can improve overall social well-being.

Solutions to Mitigate Social Unrest

Effective solutions include implementing progressive taxation, improving access to education and healthcare, and fostering inclusive economic policies. By addressing the root causes of economic inequality, societies can reduce the risks of social unrest and build more cohesive communities.

Economic inequality poses significant risks to social stability. By understanding and addressing its causes and effects, policymakers can create fairer societies that foster social harmony and economic prosperity.

Writing an essay on economic inequality requires a deep understanding of its multifaceted nature and impacts. From examining educational disparities to assessing globalization's role, we've showcased four robust essay examples to guide your writing. Remember to structure your essay clearly, use credible data, and present a balanced view. With these tools, you're well-equipped to create a compelling essay that resonates with readers and sheds light on one of today's most pressing issues.

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Income Inequality 101: Causes, Facts, Examples, Ways to Take Action

Billionaires are increasing their fortunes by $2.7 billion every day . Meanwhile, at least 1.7 billion workers live in areas where inflation is higher than wages. Income inequality is a global problem. It has several consequences, including financial crises, fragile economies, high inflation, poorer health outcomes, and violence. In this article, we’ll explore what causes income inequality, what it looks like, the most important facts everyone should know, and how to address it.

Income inequality is a global issue with several causes, including historical racism, unequal land distribution, high inflation, and stagnant wages. As gaps increase thanks to crises like COVID-19, the world needs to take action in education, labor market policies, tax reforms, and higher wages.

What is income inequality?

When some people in society earn significantly more than others, it creates inequality. Inequality is more than just about the paychecks we take home, however. There’s also wealth inequality, which refers to uneven distributions of wealth. This includes the value of assets and possessions like stocks, property, boats, and so on. Someone may earn a lower income than a neighbor, but because they own stocks and land, they’re wealthier.

Income inequality is measured with factors like gender, ethnicity, location, historical income, and occupation. When identifying a country’s income inequality, there are measurements like the Gini index , which is also called the Gini coefficient. A score of 0 on the index means there’s no deviation; everyone is perfectly equal. A score of 100 means total inequality; a single person has all the country’s wealth. The index isn’t perfect . As Amanda Shendruck points out, Greece, Israel, Thailand, and the UK got the same score in 2015. However, poverty in these countries looks very different. The World Inequality Database avoids the index altogether. On its own, the Gini index may not be especially useful, but it can provide a quick snapshot that encourages more investigation.

The causes of income inequality: two case studies

There are global and country-specific factors that drive income inequality. To get a clearer idea of the causes, let’s look at two countries as examples: South Africa and the United States.

South Africa: The long shadow of apartheid and land ownership

Based on the Gini index, South Africa has the world’s highest income inequality at 63.0 . Apartheid is a big reason why. For almost 50 years, this formalized racial segregation restricted the activities and movements of Black South Africans, who made up most of the population. Black Africans couldn’t marry white people, travel without passbooks, or start businesses in white areas. Society was structured to uplift white people while trampling Black South Africans. When apartheid ended in the 1990s, inequality remained baked into the country’s foundation. South Africa has struggled to make progress on ending inequality. According to a 2022 World Bank report , the top 10% of South Africa’s population holds 71% of all income. Living in or near cities increases job opportunities, but South Africa’s growth has stalled and failed to create enough jobs. High unemployment is a significant driver of inequality, especially for young people.

Gender, race, and land ownership are three other main causes. In South Africa, women earn 38% less than men even when they have similar education levels. When race gets added to inequality analyses, it contributes 41% to income inequality. The World Bank report also studied land ownership, which is vital for addressing inequality among poor people in rural areas. Because of apartheid, there’s a long history of unequal land distribution which hasn’t been remedied yet. COVID-19 made all these factors worse.

The United States: The legacy of slavery and stagnant wages

The United States isn’t among the top most unequal countries in the world, but it has a much higher Gini coefficient when compared to similar economies. According to Statista , the top 10% of earners in the United States (in the third quarter of 2022) held 68% of the country’s total wealth. The lowest 50% held just 3.3.%. Like South Africa, the United States’ history of racial segregation plays a big role. Slavery made it impossible for Black people to build wealth, but even after emancipation, Jim Crow laws severely restricted economic opportunities. The effects resonate to this day. A 2018 analysis of incomes and wealth found that over the past 70 years, there’s been no progress in reducing income and wealth inequalities between Black and white households.

Inequality is also driven by the fact that wages haven’t kept pace with inflation. In June 2022, consumer prices hit 9.1% higher than the year before. This made it the largest annual increase since 1981. Wages have been going up, but they’ve been consistently at 4.5%. The federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since 2009: it’s just $7.25. A study found that in 91% of U.S. counties, a full-time minimum wage worker doesn’t make enough to afford a one-bedroom apartment rental.

What are the five main facts everyone should know about income equality?

There’s a lot to sift through when it comes to income and wealth inequality, but here are five of the most important facts to know:

#1. Inequalities within countries are getting worse

While global inequalities between countries are lowering, the gaps within countries are increasing. According to the World Inequality Database’s 2022 report , the gap between the average incomes of the bottom 50% and the top 10% of individuals has nearly doubled in the past two decades. The World Inequality Database frames it this way: “global inequalities seem to be about as great today as they were at the peak of Western imperialism in the early 20th century.”

#2. COVID-19 is erasing progress

According to groups like the IMF , COVID-19 is worsening inequalities within countries (the poor were hit harder than the rich), but also between countries. Wealthier countries had more resources to deal with the pandemic and could recover faster. According to the World Bank , progress was set back by about a decade.

#3. Inequality hits already-disenfranchised people the hardest

Income inequality is an intersectional issue. It affects disenfranchised groups like women, young people, informal industry workers, the elderly, and disabled people the most. As income inequality worsened in the UK , the disposable income for the poorest ⅕ of the population dropped by 3.8%. The average income for retired households also went down from £26,300 to £25,900.

#4. Over the last decade, the world’s richest 1% have gotten 54% of new wealth – and they’re getting richer

According to an Oxfam report , the world’s richest 1% captured $42 trillion of the new wealth created between December 2019-December 2021. $16 trillion got distributed to the bottom 99%. While the pandemic hit the poor the hardest, the world’s richest actually gained wealth. There was a slight dip in 2022, but in 2023, their wealth is increasing yet again.

#5. Income inequality is linked to climate change

Every year, humans emit around 6.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita. However, the top 10% of emitters are releasing around 50% of all emissions. The bottom 50% are producing just 12%. Why does this matter to income inequality? The world’s biggest emitters are rich. While many of the world’s poorest countries emit significantly less CO2 , they’re enduring the worst climate change effects. Even within rich countries, the poorest half of the population have already met (or are close to meeting) the 2030 climate targets set by their nations. It’s the rich who need to change.

How to take action on income inequality

Income inequality is a deeply-entrenched, global problem that will take lots of work. Here are three ways countries can take action:

#1. Pay a living wage

Many countries are raising wages, but they’re not raising them enough to close income gaps. That’s why minimum wages need to be higher. In an article on the World Economic Forum about fair wages , the global director of human rights at Unilver emphasized the need for living wages. These are calculated based on what it takes to afford a decent standard of living. Currently, minimum wages in many countries don’t reflect reality. The United States is an example as its minimum wage won’t cover rent on a one-bedroom apartment.

#2. Invest in good public education

Study after study shows the positive impact of good public education. According to a report from Oxfam , a good education can reduce poverty, increase opportunities, and encourage a more democratic society. Education also improves gender equality, which is key to closing income inequality gaps. To successfully address income inequality, education must be universal, free, and public. If it isn’t, education can make inequalities worse as it divides students by traits like race, gender, and wealth.

#3. Make tax systems more redistributive

According to the IMF , addressing inequality more redistributive tax systems. What is a redistributive tax system ? It’s a system where high-income people pay higher taxes (positive taxes) and lower-income people receive more subsidies. In places like the United States, where legislation has designed tax codes to benefit corporations and the wealthiest individuals , wider inequality has followed. The rich are also allowed to get away with more. In 2014-2016, the IRS – which is famously underfunded – didn’t pursue over 300,000 high-income individuals who failed to file tax returns. If countries want to tackle inequality, their tax systems should be designed to help rather than make things worse. That includes spending more on social sectors like education, health, and social protection.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

Social Inequality - List of Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Social inequality refers to the unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges among individuals or groups within a society. Essays can explore the various forms of social inequality such as income inequality, gender inequality, racial inequality, and their underlying causes. Moreover, discussions could extend to the implications of social inequality on societal cohesion, economic development, and the strategies aimed at mitigating inequality. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Social Inequality you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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Essay on Social Inequality

Students are often asked to write an essay on Social Inequality in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Social Inequality

Social inequality: a divide in society.

Social inequality refers to the unfair and unjust differences in the way people are treated in a society. It can be based on factors like wealth, power, gender, race, caste, religion, or other characteristics.

Causes of Social Inequality

Consequences of social inequality.

Social inequality has many negative consequences, including:

Addressing Social Inequality

There are many things that can be done to address social inequality, including:

250 Words Essay on Social Inequality

What is social inequality.

Social inequality is when people in a society do not have equal rights, opportunities, or resources. This means some people have more money, better education, or more power than others. It’s like being in a race where some people have to wear heavy shoes, making it unfair.

Types of Social Inequality

There are many types of social inequality. Some people are treated unfairly because of their skin color, which is called racial inequality. Others might face problems because they are women, which is known as gender inequality. Then, there are those who are looked down upon because they come from a poor family, which is economic inequality.

Effects of Social Inequality

Social inequality can make life very hard for some people. For example, if you do not have much money, you might not be able to go to a good school. This can make it hard for you to get a good job when you grow up. It can also make people feel sad or left out because they are treated differently.

What Can We Do?

Everyone can help fight social inequality. We can start by treating everyone the same, no matter what they look like or where they come from. Schools can teach kids about why it’s important to be fair. And, people can work together to help those who do not have as much, like donating to charities or volunteering.

Social inequality is a big problem, but if we all work together, we can make the world a fairer place for everyone.

500 Words Essay on Social Inequality

Social inequality is when people in a society do not have equal rights, opportunities, or resources. Imagine a race where some runners have to wear heavy backpacks while others don’t. The race is unfair because not everyone has the same chance to win. In the same way, in our society, not everyone starts from the same place or has the same chances to succeed.

There are many kinds of social inequality. One major type is economic inequality, which is about the differences in wealth and income. Some people have a lot of money and can buy whatever they want, while others struggle to pay for basic needs like food and a home. Another type is racial inequality, where people are treated differently because of their race. Gender inequality is also common, where men and women are not given the same opportunities or respect.

Social inequality does not just happen; it is caused by many factors. One big cause is the way society’s rules and laws are set up, which can favor some people over others. For example, if a country’s laws make it harder for women to work or own property, this creates gender inequality. Another cause is discrimination, where people are treated unfairly because of things like their race, gender, or religion. Lastly, economic systems can cause inequality when they allow some people to become very rich while others stay poor.

Social inequality can have many bad effects on people and society. People who face inequality might not be able to get good jobs or education, which makes it hard for them to improve their lives. This can lead to poverty and even affect their health. For society, inequality can cause problems like crime and violence, as people who feel treated unfairly might turn to these as a way to express their frustration or to survive.

What Can Be Done?

In conclusion, social inequality is a big problem that affects many aspects of life. It’s about not having the same chances because of things like how much money you have, your race, or your gender. It’s caused by unfair laws, discrimination, and economic systems. It can lead to poverty, poor health, and even crime. But by changing laws, fighting discrimination, and educating people, we can work towards a society where everyone has the same opportunities to succeed.

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What Is Income Inequality?

• How It Works
• Measurement
• How to Reduce It
• U.S. Income Inequality

The Bottom Line

Income inequality definition: examples and how it's measured.

Investopedia / Sabrina Jiang

Income inequality refers to how unevenly income is distributed throughout a population. The less equal the distribution, the greater the income inequality. Income inequality is often accompanied by wealth inequality, which is the uneven distribution of wealth.

Populations can be divided up in different ways to show different levels and forms of income inequality, such as income inequality by gender or race. Different measures, such as the Gini Index , can be used to analyze the level of income inequality in a population.

Key Takeaways

• Income inequality can result in a lack of opportunities for better standards of living and stable financial futures, and political and social upheavals.
• Income inequality studies help to show the disparity of income among different population segments.
• When analyzing income inequality, researchers study distributions based on gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and occupation.
• Case studies and analyses of income inequality, income disparity, and income distributions are provided regularly by a variety of top sources.
• The Gini Index is a popular way to compare income inequalities universally across the globe.

Understanding Income Inequality

Income inequality, or the imbalance of income earned by a group people, exists in countries throughout the world. In the U.S., these differences in income have become pronounced over the past fifty years. Income inequality is not the same as wealth inequality; the former involves salaries/wages while the latter involves net worth.

Causes of Income Inequality

Some of the factors that affect income inequality include:

Globalization: The increase in trade among nations resulted in the move of manufacturing and other jobs by corporations in the U.S. to countries where labor costs were cheaper. For working-class and middle-class Americans, this meant that secure, even generational, jobs and income disappeared.

Advances in Technology: While a boon in many ways, certain workplace technological advancements, such as automation, have led to the loss of jobs for blue-collar workers and lower wages for less educated workers.

Gender and Race Bias: Income disparities have always been clearly visible for women and people of color. It's widely acknowledged that, for example, male employees typically earn more than female employees in the same job positions. Likewise, white males earn more than non-white males.

Education: Workers with less than a high-school education experience less growth in wages than those with college educations and post graduate degrees. The announcements of multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses (even in troubling economic times) going to C-Suite executives drives this income disparity home.

Economic Conditions: When economic conditions weaken, financial turmoil, unemployment, slowing business investment, and more can affect incomes.

Taxation: Although high-income earners pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than lower-income earners, federal taxation has not put the brakes on increasing income inequality. That may be due to certain tax policies, e.g., those related to corporate taxation, the capital gains tax rates, and income tax cuts, that benefit those with higher income more than those with lower income.

Consequences of Income Inequality

Some degree of income inequality is to be expected because of basic differences in talent, effort, and simple chance. However, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , too much income inequality could "erode social cohesion, lead to political polarization, and ultimately lower economic growth."

Political upheaval and the disappearance of social, educational, and economic opportunities to improve standards of living and financial futures can also be consequences of income disparity.

Analysis of Income Inequality

Income inequality and income disparity can be analyzed through a variety of segmentations. Income distributions by demographic segmentation form the basis for studying income inequality and income disparity.

The different types of income segmentations studied when analyzing income inequality may include:

• Geographic location
• Historical income

How to Measure Income Inequality

One way to measure income inequality is to compare the income of a large group of high earners (for example, the top 10%) to the national median or average. Another approach compares the income of a lower-earning group (say, the bottom 10%) to the median or average.

Other researchers have begun looking at tax records of those with the highest incomes to draw conclusions about these most affluent slices of society.

A frequently used tool for measuring income inequality is the Gini Index. It was developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini in the early 1900s to help quantify and more easily compare income inequality levels across countries of the world. The index can range from 0 to 100, with a higher level indicating greater income inequality among a country’s population and a lower level indicating less.

The latest available data from the World Bank shows South Africa reporting one of the highest income inequality dispersions with a Gini Index level of 63.0. The United States has a Gini Index level of 39.8. The Slovak Republic has the World Bank’s lowest Gini Index reading at 24.1.

How to Reduce Income Inequality

Dispersions of income inequality are an ongoing area of analysis for both local and global governing institutions. The IMF and World Bank have a goal to help improve the income of the lowest 10% of earners in all countries through their missions relating to financial stability, long-term economic development, and poverty reduction.

Globally, new innovations in financial technologies and production are helping to improve the banking services for the world’s lowest-income earners, as a worldwide initiative for financial inclusion is underway.

In addition, income inequality will be addressed more successfully when political, economic, and social leaders can agree on basic approaches to its improvement:

• Governments should step in when the free market is ineffective in increasing income.
• Governmental policies that promote income inequality must be acknowledged.
• Fiscal actions can improve income disparities.
• Universal health care could provide some increase in income equality.
• Improving the stability of other social programs such as Social Security and Medicaid could also relieve cost concerns for an enormous number of individuals.
• Better access to educational opportunities could improve socio-economic mobility.

Income Inequality in the United States

Income inequality in the U.S. has been increasing since the 1970s. Throughout the 20th century and up to the present, this inequality has been exacerbated by government tax and labor policies and ongoing discrimination by race and gender. A weakening middle class has also contributed to income inequality.

The organizations below conduct research and produce analysis reports on various examples of income inequality, income disparity, and income distributions in the U.S.

Urban Institute

In an analysis of 60 years of economic data, the Urban Institute showed that the poorest got poorer while the richest got much richer.

Between 1963 and 2022:

• The poorest 10% of Americans went from having $23 in debt to having $450 in wealth.
• Families in the middle-income segment almost quadrupled their prior average wealth.
• Families in the top 10% had more than six times their prior wealth.
• Families in the top 1% had more than seven times their prior wealth.

The Urban Institute also researches the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the U.S. The organization reported that White families in 1963 had amassed a median wealth of approximately $45,000 more than families of color. By 2019, the median wealth for White families increased to approximately $153,000 more than Latinx families and $165,000 more than Black families.

Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve provides a quarterly Distributional Financial Accounts report. This report shows wealth distributions for U.S. households. As of the first quarter of 2024, the Federal Reserve showed the following distributions of wealth across the U.S.

Economic Policy Institute

In December 2023, the Economic Policy Institute released a report on disparities between wage growth across different income levels. For those in the bottom 90%, wages grew just 32.9% from 1979 to 2022. For those in the top 1%, wages grew 171.7%. For those in the top 0.1%, wages grew 344.4%.

There can be many factors associated with this trend, including salary stagnation for wage-earning Americans, tax cuts for the richest Americans, a loss of manufacturing jobs, and a soaring stock market that inflated the worth of corporate executives and hedge fund managers. However, it's noteworthy that wage inequality may also shrink due to declines in the stock market, which occurred in 2022.

Post-recession, companies are also investing heavily to hire and keep workers with specialized skills in fields such as engineering and  healthcare . This has caused reductions or new automation takeovers in other functions, pushing down wages for workers in less competitive jobs.

Furthermore, EPI data tracks wages by segment on a regular basis. As of 2023, it showed the following averages for white, Black, and Hispanic workers.

Institute for Women’s Policy Research

Income inequality is an economic concept that tends to hit some segments of populations harder than others, with significant wage gaps often identified for women, Black people, and Hispanic people working in the U.S. 

According to a study of incomes for full-time workers by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, in 2022 women of all races and ethnicities were paid an average of 83% of the salaries paid to men. When both part- and full-time incomes are included, women earn just 77.4 cents for each dollar a man earned.

The same report also broke down earnings by race and gender. It noted that, compared to the median weekly earnings of White men working full-time, Hispanic women earned 61.4% of that amount, Black women earned 67.4%, and White women earned 84.2%.

Pew Research Center

Data from the Pew Research Center also identifies income inequalities by gender . In 2022, according to its latest analysis of hourly earnings of full- and part-time employees, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned. This is not much of an improvement over the pay gap in 2002, when women earned 80% as much as men.

An income gap refers to the difference in income earned between demographic segments.

Why Is Income Inequality a Problem?

It's a serious problem because the lack of financial stability for large portions of a population can promote potentially destructive social and economic upheaval generally, as well as financial hardships and lower standards of living, in particular.

What Are 3 Effects of Income Inequality?

Financial hardship for many, persistent poverty, and a dispirited populace that could be ripe for social and political unrest are just a few of the effects of income inequality.

How Can We Fix Income Inequality?

To reduce income inequality, governments and private sectors must address its various causes, including discrimination, unfair taxation, wage stagnation, and more that lead to large imbalances in compensation.

Income inequality is the disparity of incomes across a population. Some income inequality is always to be expected because people bring different degrees of talent, effort, and luck to their endeavors. But large imbalances in income have been caused and maintained by discrimination, taxation policies, the downfall of labor unions, troublesome economic conditions such as slow growth and high inflation, and more.

Countries must address income inequality to combat the disproportionate prosperity, financial hardship, and loss of social and economic opportunities that can lead to social discontent and political instability.

Tax Policy Center. " Briefing Book; How Do Taxes Affect Income Inequality? "

Center for American Progress. " The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy ."

International Monetary Fund. " The IMF and Income Inequality ."

The New Yorker. " Richer and Poorer ."

The CIA World Factbook. " Country Comparisons: Gini Index Coefficient - Distribution of Family Income ."

The World Bank. " Gini Index - South Africa, Slovak Republic, United States ."

Urban Institute. " Nine Charts About Wealth Inequality in America (Updated) ."

Urban Institute. " How Policymakers Can Ensure the COVID-19 Pandemic Doesn’t Widen the Racial Wealth Gap ."

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. " Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989 ."

Economic Policy Institute. " Wage Enequality Fell in 2022 Because Stock Market Declines Brought Down Pay of the Highest Earners. "

Economic Policy Institute. " State of Working America Data Library ."

Institute for Women's Policy Research. " Women Earn Less Than Men Whether They Work in the Same or in Different Occupations ." Pages 1-2.

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105 Social Inequality Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best social inequality topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 interesting topics to write about social inequality, 🎓 good research topics about social inequality, ⭐ simple & easy social inequality essay titles, ❓ research questions about social inequality.

• Social Class Discrimination In this paper, I analyze three articles on social class and inequality to find out whether the authors’ views agree with mine on the negative attitudes towards the poor by the middle class and the […]
• Social, Cultural and Gender Inequality From a Global Perspective It is the duty of the tutor to craft a lecture-room environment that serves to enhance meaningful discussions concerning gender. This is due to the fact that students learn best in various ways.
• Zora Neale Hurston “Sweat”: The Issue of Social Inequality of Women and Men On the one hand, it represented a true social situation, and on the other hand, it helped to illustrate the life of Afro-American people at the beginning of the twentieth century.
• Hip-Hop and Rap Impact on Social Inequality For instance, Beyonce is one of the most famous artists in the world who have stated her opinion regarding misogyny related to artists and other black women.
• Social Inequality, Socialization, and Values Living in terms of limited access to resources also influences career choice and the level of income. As a result, the problem remains unresolved, and communities suffer from the unfair distribution of benefits.
• Social Inequality and Discrimination Gender discrimination is when a person or a group of people is treated unfairly or unfairly because of their gender. Moreover, there is a classification of the thinking model in which a person exalts his […]
• Researching of Social Inequality In this paper, I look at the social injustices suffered by minority communities in these eras, how they sought to solve them, and the coverage of these critical periods of American history in the textbooks. […]
• Solution for Social Inequality by Transforming Human Attitudes On the macro-scale, the poverty redress policies emphasize the importance of economic growth while the issue of social inequality remains in the background.
• Social Inequality in Literary Works For example, in Recitatif, the writer describes the adversities of the lives of two girls living in a shelter, Twyla and Roberta.
• Social Inequality, Capitalism, and Globalization It replaces slavery of antiquity and negatively affects almost all aspects of society, from the inequality of men and women to the sphere of science and education.
• Social Inequality Principle According to the COVID-19 From the five principles that figured out the emergence of social inequality, I would like to discuss the principle about the interplay of Power, Privilege, and Prestige according to the current terrifying occasion of a […]
• COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Inequality Currently, the world community is rethinking the problems of a multinational state in the context of measures that can stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus on the planet.
• Social Inequality in Canada and Its Main Factor The promotion of capitalism, the living conditions of most of the citizens, the percentage the rich control in terms of national wealth, and the promotion of stratification are the key factors that explain why social […]
• Comparing Perspectives on Social Inequality The authors formulate two categories, according to which the society’s employees receive compensation for their contribution the functional importance and the scarcity of personnel.
• Social Inequality Problem Overview Both in the case of Arabic women and black slavery, people are depicted as their basic rights by some groups of individuals, which is inappropriate.
• The Problem of Social Inequality The project is one of the ways to convey the urgency of the problem to the broad public. This will keep the site up to date and highlight the relevance of problems.
• Social Inequality: Family, Economics and Wages The first is the world of work, living in a declining share of income for the majority of the people, and which has an extreme shortage of money for the purchase of even essential goods.
• Social Inequality at School: Vision Winterkorn was in charge of the company when it faced the major crisis, the echoes of which are still causing issues.”The Volkswagen Diesel Fraud” as the world knows it, was a major scandal that Winterkorn […]
• Social Inequality at School: The G-Spot The gland is claimed to have the connection to the G-spot that is perceived rather as a system of glands, tissue, and nerves.
• The Inter-Sectionality Theory and Social Inequality The inter-sectionalist theory indicates that cultural identifiers such as ethnicity, gender, as well as race, are the prime factors contributing to actions that result in mistreating a group of individuals, and uplifting others. The fact […]
• Social Inequality in the United States Social inequality refers to the difference in the quality of life experienced by different people in the same community, usually between the rich and poor.
• Social Inequality Issue Analysis Thesis Social inequality is a system and systematic worked as the framework of society and its functionality. What is acknowledged to be a hierarchical social structure are essentially confined to the primary units of economic […]
• Social Factors Perpetuating Inequality It seems reasonable to analyze the problem of inequality and factors perpetuating it from the point of the symbolic interactionist perspective.
• Social Inequality: Hip-Hop Culture and Movement When it comes to defining the term ‘social movement’, it is important to understand that the process of a particular group of people striving to have their voice heard in the public sphere, must be […]
• Social Inequality, Constitution, and Revolution Rousseau argued that in the past people had no hunger for individual ownership of the property until one person fenced a piece of land and claimed that the land belonged to him; after this, people […]
• Social Inequality in Australia This paper seeks to interrogate the presence of social inequality and discrimination in Australia, focusing especially on the social disadvantages that are faced by the indigenous people as a result of it.
• Hip-Hop Subculture as Answer to Social Inequality One of the most notable aspects of a contemporary living in America is the fact that, as of today, the sub-culture of Hip-Hop had ceased being considered in terms of a largely marginalized socio-cultural phenomenon.
• Social Inequality and Uneven Educational Distribution Social inequality has a greatly influenced the distribution of resources in the American society. The majority class has created a culture of favoritism that has resulted in suffering amongst people of the minority class.
• Media Patterns and Social Inequality An example of bias in the media can be illustrated by observing the ratio of men to women in society, and placing that ratio to the available job opportunities in the media.
• The Problem of Social and Economic Inequality in Modern Society The author claims that it is the role of the government to ensure the efficiency of the current employment legislation. In summary, the analyzed articles are devoted to the problem of social and economic inequality.
• Social and Economic Inequality While structural changes have reduced economic and social inequalities in some areas, the concept has led to a worsening of conditions in some countries.
• Social Welfare Policy That Facilitates Reduction of Poverty and Inequality in the US In spite of the scale of the increase in the inequality, the political class in the US rarely discusses this subject in the public.
• The Income Gap Between Low-Income Families and Others: Signs of Individual Freedom or Proof of Social Inequality
• Argentina: The Many Problems of Social Inequality
• Social Inequality and Political Change
• Women Criminals and Social Inequality
• Child Protection and Social Inequality
• Economic and Social Inequality Today
• Courage, Social Inequality, and Prejudice
• Educational Attainment and Social Inequality in Russia: Dynamics and Correlations With Education Policies
• Closed Circuit Television Promotes Social Inequality and Control
• Social Inequality in Terms of Class Andor Ethnicity
• Induced Innovation and Social Inequality: Evidence From Infant Medical Care
• Social Inequality and the Criminal Offenses Associated With It
• Two Major Theories of the Persistence of Social Inequality
• Corporate Monopoly and Social Inequality
• Theories of Social Inequality: Can Inequality Be Eliminated
• Critical Thinkings About Social Inequality in School and Employment
• Family Patterns and Social Inequality Among Children in the United States
• Are Victims Still Being Blamed for Social Inequality
• The Macro-Sociological Theories of Karl Marx: Social Inequality, the Role of Culture, Religion, Sexuality, the Environment, Work and Alienation, and Social Deviance
• Climate Change and Social Inequality
• Global Social Inequality Reveals the Cracks in Our System
• Cyberspace and Social Inequality
• Political Analysis: Consensus Democracy and Reduce Social Inequality
• Growth Dynamics and Social Inequality in European Regions
• Caste System and Social Inequality
• Functionalist Explanations of Social Inequality
• Economic and Social Inequality in the United States and the Use of Urban Sociology in the Effectively Tackling of These Challenges
• Biased Aspirations and Social Inequality at School: Evidence From French Teenagers
• Globalization: Economic and Social Inequality Issues
• Equality and Social Inequality of Class and Class Equality
• Social Inequality and Minorities in the United States
• Classical and Modern Explanations of Social Inequality
• Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists
• Rethinking the Role of Religion in the Emergence of Social Inequality
• Dominance, Prejudiced Stereotypes, and Social Inequality
• Childcare, Early Education and Social Inequality: An International Perspective
• Education and Social Inequality
• Gifts, Bequests, and Social Inequality in West Germany
• Neuromodulation and Enhance Social Inequality: Some Possible Indirect Interventions of the State
• Explicit and Implicit Issues in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience of Social Inequality
• What Is Social Inequality?
• What Are Examples of Social Inequality?
• Why Is Social Inequality a Problem?
• What Causes Social Inequality?
• How Do You Identify Social Inequality?
• What Is Social Inequality Essay?
• How Can We Stop Social Inequality?
• What Is the Conclusion of Social Inequality?
• How Did Social Inequality Start?
• Is It Important to Know Social Inequality?
• How Can Students Reduce Social Inequality?
• Why Should We Stop Social Inequality?
• How Does Social Inequality Affect Students?
• Is Social Inequality Good or Bad?
• What Are Types of Social Inequality?
• What Causes Social Inequality in Education?
• Which Country Has the Most Social Inequality?
• How Does Social Inequality Affect Human Rights?
• Why Is Social Inequality a Moral Problem?
• Is Social Inequality Inevitable?
• How Is Social Inequality Measured?
• How Do Social Differences Lead to Social Inequality?
• How Does Social Inequality Affect Quality of Life?
• How Is Social Inequality Connected to Power?
• What Will Happen if Social Inequality Continues?
• Discrimination Essay Titles
• Equality Topics
• Gender Inequality Research Topics
• Homelessness Questions
• Globalization Essay Topics
• Masculinity Topics
• Poverty Essay Titles
• Sexism Essay Ideas
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer Essay: Income Inequality (Real Past IELTS Test/Exam)

by Dave | Real Past Tests | 4 Comments

This is an IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer Essay from the real IELTS exam on the topic of income inquality.

It’s a really interesting question because a lot of politicians have been talking about this recently.

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Before you read the sample answer, you can improve your listening by playing the audio before and taking some notes on the keywords/ideas and then reading the sample essay :

IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer: Income Inequality (Real Past IELTS Test/Exam)

Many believe that the best way to ensure a happier society is to reduce the difference in income earnings between the rich and poor. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Real Past IELTS Exam/Test

Class distinctions are an intrinsic element of human relations but many today worry over the drastically widening gap between rich and poor. In my opinion, in order to have a happy society there must be a more equal distribution of income.

The main reason that these economic reforms would make society happier is by diffusing personal frustrations. The less wealthy often feel resentful and insecure about their place in life. This has a number of symptoms ranging from relatively benign unhappiness to deep depression, and takes a collective toll on individuals, families and societies. In the most extreme examples, mass shootings in the United States are invariably undertaken by poor, white males who feel left behind economically. The net impact of lifting people out of poverty would be a boon to everyday families as well as society at large.

Furthermore, if people no longer had to stress and work themselves to the bone to make ends meet, new outlets to contribute more to society would open up. They could volunteer for a charity, if they have an altruistic bent, take up an art, spend more time being a dedicated family member, or even set aside time to try to innovate in their vocation. Small-scale parallels for this exist already in the form of scholarships given to underprivileged students who are then able to get degrees and contribute across a variety of disciplines to making society happier in general.

In conclusion, there is little doubt that in the 21st century income inequality has reached a level that causes extreme unrest among the general population and distributing capital more evenly would remedy this. Countries ought to look closely at recent proposals for a universal basic income.

1. Class distinctions are an intrinsic element of human relations but many today worry over the drastically widening gap between rich and poor. 2. In my opinion, in order to have a happy society there must be a more equal distribution of income.

• Paraphrase the overall topic for the essay first of all.
• Then include your overall opinion – make it 100% clear.

1. The main reason that these economic reforms would make society happier is by diffusing personal frustrations. 2. The less wealthy often feel resentful and insecure about their place in life. 3. This has a number of symptoms ranging from relatively benign unhappiness to deep depression, and takes a collective toll on individuals, families and societies. 4. In the most extreme examples, mass shootings in the United States are invariably undertaken by poor, white males who feel left behind economically. 5. The net impact of lifting people out of poverty would be a boon to everyday families as well as society at large.

• Write a topic sentence with a relevant main idea at the end of the sentence.
• Begin to explain/develop your main idea.
• Continue developing with as much specific detail as possible.
• Include a specific example if possible.
• Describe the effect/result of your main idea.

1. Furthermore, if people no longer had to stress and work themselves to the bone to make ends meet, new outlets to contribute more to society would open up. 2. They could volunteer for a charity, if they have an altruistic bent, take up an art, spend more time being a dedicated family member, or even set aside time to try to innovate in their vocation. 3. Small-scale parallels for this exist already in the form of scholarships given to underprivileged students who are then able to get degrees and contribute across a variety of disciplines to making society happier in general.

• Write a new topic sentence. My topic sentence here is a little too long – try to write a shorter, simpler topic sentence.
• Again include specific examples – the more specific, the better!
• Here I use a comparative example to support my main idea. This paragraph is only 3 sentences, aim for 4-5 in your own writing.

1. In conclusion, there is little doubt that in the 21st century income inequality has reached a level that causes extreme unrest among the general population and distributing capital more evenly would remedy this. 2. Countries ought to look closely at recent proposals for a universal basic income.

• Repeat your opinion and include some strong vocabulary/grammar at the end.
• Add in a final thought or extra detail to get full points for task achievement from the IELTS examiner.

Try to figure out what the words in bold below mean:

Class distinctions are an intrinsic element of human relations but many today worry over the drastically widening gap between rich and poor. In my opinion, in order to have a happy society there must be a more equal distribution of income .

The main reason that these economic reforms would make society happier is by diffusing personal frustrations . The less wealthy often feel resentful and insecure about their place in life . This has a number of symptoms ranging from relatively benign unhappiness to deep depression , and takes a collective toll on individuals, families and societies. In the most extreme examples , mass shootings in the United States are invariably undertaken by poor, white males who feel left behind economically . The net impact of lifting people out of poverty would be a boon to everyday families as well as society at large .

Furthermore, if people no longer had to stress and work themselves to the bone to make ends meet , new outlets to contribute more to society would open up . They could volunteer for a charity, if they have an altruistic bent , take up an art, spend more time being a dedicated family member, or even set aside time to try to innovate in their vocation . Small-scale parallels for this exist already in the form of scholarships given to underprivileged students who are then able to get degrees and contribute across a variety of disciplines to making society happier in general.

In conclusion, there is little doubt that in the 21st century income inequality has reached a level that causes extreme unrest among the general population and distributing capital more evenly would remedy this. Countries ought to look closely at recent proposals for a universal basic income .

class distinctions different levels of wealth

intrinsic element innate part

human relations human society

drastically widening gap getting larger very quickly

more equal distribution of income less disparity in wages

economic reforms changes to the economy

diffusing personal frustrations lessening the impact of annoyance with yourself

resentful anger towards others

insecure lacking confidence

place in life standing in life

symptoms results

relatively benign unhappiness comparatively not harmful feeling bad

deep depression feeling very sad

collective toll total drawbacks on everyone

most extreme examples outliers

mass shootings when lots of people get shot

invariably always

left behind economically stranded financially

net impact total effect

lifting people out of poverty helping poor people get richer

boon benefit

society at large all of society

work themselves to the bone to make ends meet work really hard to make enough money

new outlets novel avenues for

open up allow for

altruistic bent care about others over yourself

take up begin doing

dedicated passionate about

set aside time have free time to

innovate implement new ideas

vocation job

small-scale parallels comparisions

scholarships money to study

underprivileged poor

disciplines fields

extreme unrest strong discontent

distributing capital more evenly spreading money equally

recent proposals new ideas/regulations/laws

universal basic income salary for every citizen

Proununciation

klɑːs dɪsˈtɪŋkʃənz   ɪnˈtrɪnsɪk ˈɛlɪmənt   ˈhjuːmən rɪˈleɪʃənz   ˈdræstɪk(ə)li ˈwaɪdnɪŋ gæp   mɔːr ˈiːkwəl ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃən ɒv ˈɪnkʌm ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˌriːˈfɔːmz   dɪˈfjuːzɪŋ ˈpɜːsnl frʌsˈtreɪʃənz rɪˈzɛntfʊl   ˌɪnsɪˈkjʊə   pleɪs ɪn laɪf ˈsɪmptəmz ˈrɛlətɪvli bɪˈnaɪn ʌnˈhæpɪnəs   diːp dɪˈprɛʃən kɒˈlɛktɪv təʊl   məʊst ɪksˈtriːm ɪgˈzɑːmplz mæs ˈʃuːtɪŋz ɪnˈveərɪəbli   lɛft bɪˈhaɪnd ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪkəli nɛt ˈɪmpækt   ˈlɪftɪŋ ˈpiːpl aʊt ɒv ˈpɒvəti   buːn   səˈsaɪəti æt lɑːʤ wɜːk ðəmˈsɛlvz tuː ðə bəʊn tuː meɪk ɛndz miːt njuː ˈaʊtlɛts   ˈəʊpən ʌp ˌæltrʊˈɪstɪk bɛnt teɪk ʌp   ˈdɛdɪkeɪtɪd   sɛt əˈsaɪd taɪm   ˈɪnəʊveɪt   vəʊˈkeɪʃən smɔːl-skeɪl ˈpærəlɛlz   ˈskɒləʃɪps   ˌʌndəˈprɪvɪlɪʤd   ˈdɪsɪplɪnz   ɪksˈtriːm ʌnˈrɛst   dɪsˈtrɪbju(ː)tɪŋ ˈkæpɪtl mɔːr ˈiːvənli   ˈrɛmɪdi   ˈriːsnt prəˈpəʊzəlz   ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəl ˈbeɪsɪk ˈɪnkʌm

Listen and repeat:

Vocabulary Practice

Remember and fill in the blanks:

______________ are an ______________ of ______________ but many today worry over the ______________ between rich and poor. In my opinion, in order to have a happy society there must be a ______________ .

The main reason that these ______________ would make society happier is by ______________ . The less wealthy often feel ______________ and ______________ about their ______________ . This has a number of ______________ ranging from ______________ to ______________ , and takes a ______________ on individuals, families and societies. In the ______________ , ______________ in the United States are ______________ undertaken by poor, white males who feel ______________ . The ______________ of ______________ would be a ______________ to everyday families as well as ______________ .

Furthermore, if people no longer had to stress and ______________ , ______________ to contribute more to society would ______________ . They could volunteer for a charity, if they have an ______________ , ______________ an art, spend more time being a ______________ family member, or even ______________ to try to ______________ in their ______________ . ______________ for this exist already in the form of ______________ given to ______________ students who are then able to get degrees and contribute across a variety of ______________ to making society happier in general.

In conclusion, there is little doubt that in the 21st century income inequality has reached a level that causes ______________ among the general population and ______________ would this. Countries ought to look closely at ______________ for a ______________ .

Listen and check:

Listening Practice

Obama’s an expert! Review the topic of income inequality with the video below:

Reading Practice

Further review with this article:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-paradox-of-universal-basic-income/

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Home — Essay Samples — Economics — Economic Inequality — Poverty and Economic Inequality: Current American Issues

Poverty and Economic Inequality: Current American Issues

• Categories: Economic Inequality Income Inequality Poverty in America

About this sample

Words: 681 |

Published: Aug 30, 2022

Words: 681 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Economic inequality and its multifaceted impact, public perception of economic inequality, works cited:.

• American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).
• Barnett, A. (2017). Academic initiative: What it is and why it matters. The Student Room. https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/applying/ucas-application/ucas-personal-statements/academic-initiative-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters
• Lerner, M. (2012). Moral development. In V. S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 198-202). Elsevier.
• National Honor Society. (2023). About Us.
• Pruitt, S. (2018). How volunteering can help you professionally. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthapruitt/2018/05/03/how-volunteering-can-help-you-professionally/?sh=5b4418e1317f
• Senior Living Residences. (2023). Our Communities.
• Turnitin. (2023). What is plagiarism?
• UNICEF. (2023). About us.
• VolunteerMatch. (2023). Volunteer opportunities.

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Income inequality

Updated 27 April 2023

Subject Learning

Downloads 34

Category Culture ,  Social Issues

Topic Inequality ,  Study ,  Wealth

For many years, income inequality has been a source of concern in the United States of America. Income includes revenue streams from salaries, wages, and dividends from stock shares, as well as interest from savings accounts and any other sources of money. Income inequality refers to the degree to which income and wealth are allocated unequally among citizens. Various studies on the growth of economic inequality show that inequality has risen dramatically over the last three decades. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened in the previous thirty years and is predicted to widen further if nothing is done. The issue is taken seriously in the US because it is affecting all sectors of economy as well as the politics of the country. So fundamental is the matter in America that politicians have been using as a campaign promise to win the votes of the low class citizens because they are the most affected by the issue. In 2013 general election, President Barack Obama pledged to do everything possible to reduce the level of inequality in the US. Despite the many promises by politicians, the issue is still a major issue of discussion by economists because the gap between the poor and the rich will expand radically in the coming decade. The point of interest in relation to the current economic inequality in the US is that the nation has the highest level of inequality among all developed economies. There is need to put in place right measures to curb the ever growing inequality in the country. An assertion that economic inequality is growing at a threatening rate does not sound like a surprise among the American citizens because it is evident everywhere in the country. People of all economic and social status can attest to the fact that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. The Americans mostly with low earnings are saddened by the reality that more than 40% of the American wealth is owned by 1% of the American citizens. The share of income earned by the top 1 percent of the population has grown by double digits, the share going to the top 0.1% has markedly gone up and has increased to nearly three times by 2013. The economic recession that hit America in the recent years has been attributed with making the situation worse. The ordinary Americans were the hard hit because majority of them lost their employment opportunities and some lost their houses. Prior to the occurrence of the recession, the concerns about the inequality had already raised fears about the fate of the ordinary members of the population. Some economic experts argued that the severity of the recession was augmented by the inequality that was already on the ground. In fact, some scholars were convinced that inequality in the economy contributed greatly in the occurrence of the recession (Stiglitz 426). Even announcing the end of the recession, the poor are not yet convinced because majority of them have never recovered. Their situations were worsened by the economic challenge and it might take more than a century to recover fully. After the recession, America has been referred to by economists within and outside America as a failed economy because it is unable to create benefits for most of its populace members. The consequences of the recession on the inequality of wealth were more devastating because the median wealth sank down to levels that had been experienced more than two decades ago. The impacts were so significant to the country because the wealth median went down by 40 percent compared to the period before the slump. The recovery from recession was marked by shooting up of property values, an occurrence that favored the rich as the stock market has surged over 230% since 2009 when it bottomed out (Nichols 08). Among all the advanced economies across the globe, America experiences the highest level of inequality. It has also been noted that the level of equality of opportunities is at the lowest level in the US. When compared to nations like England and Germany, United States of America is characterized by extreme range of economic stability among the citizens. Research shows that if the trend is left to go on, the American citizens will be categorized in two groups; the rich and the poor. Unlike the US, the gap between the poor and the rich in the UK is not too wide. The United Kingdom has social classes categorized according to their incomes and what they own and has monetary value. Studies in the other developed countries have also revealed that it is easy to climb the economic and social ladder in countries like Germany and England than in the US. The case is unique in the US because the rich have remained at the top as they continue to amass more wealth. On the other hand, the poor continue to retain the position in the society as they continue to become poorer. The American dream was based on the hopes that America will have a society with a balanced distribution of wealth (Stiglitz 428). According to the American dream, there is supposed to be a very thin line between the rich and the poor. Basing on what is happening in the US in regard to distribution of wealth and equality in opportunities, the American Dream is basically a fairytale. The environment is not conducive for the achievement of the dream. Instead of promoting equality in income, wealth, and opportunities as it is required, what is happening is the contrary of what is supposed to happen. Instead reducing the gap through formulation of policies that will help in creation of wealth for all people, the gap is getting wider. The American situation in relation to realization of the American Dream is more complicated by the fact that the chances and future of the American young people is entirely dependent on the education and income of their parents. The dependence level on the economic status of parents to determine the future among the youths is high among American young persons as compared to other developed economies in the world. In the other developed nations, all persons have equal opportunities to rise from the bottom to the top and it is important for economic development of a country. Before the past three decades, America was seen by most of the developed countries in Europe as a country with great opportunities for its citizens. Countries like Germany, England, and France no longer recognize the economic power that America had more than three decades ago. The American situation is largely caused by the policies that were formulated by the political class. The strength of America was centered on a strong middle class. The increased inequality has come as a result of shrinking the middle class by the increased income at the top and reduced opportunities among the low class people. Since 1970, the incomes for the top 1 percent has augmented by 170%. The increase is associated with the increased productivity among American workers but their incomes have remained constant even with the increased cost of living. America has a chance of reversing its high level of income inequality and go back to the levels they were more than three decades ago. The reverse in some policies will help to change the situation. There have been several proposals by economists to assist in the efforts to reverse the level of inequality in the US and bring it to same level as other developed nations within Europe. It seems the chances of reversing the situation are very low because the disparity keeps getting uglier. If the current trend and policies are anything to go by, the probability of changing the inequality levels is very low. Comparison of the contemporary degree of income disparity and that of the 1980s is a clear indication of how the future of low income earners in the US is uncertain. As it was mentioned earlier, the top 1 percent earn averagely $1.3 million annually. The figure is more than three times of what the rich people earned in the 1980s. In the past three decades, the rich earned an average of $428,000. As it is at the moment, the income for the richest faction of the population will increase further. The persons born within last thirty years only have a coin toss chance of having a higher income that what their parents had. The situation was not always that way particularly in the 1940s because every individual in America grew up to be better off financially as compared to their parents. Despite that money is not the only description of success in America, more wealth is responsible for improving the living conditions of people for instance affording a better house as well as increasing the opportunities to advance. It might reach a level when the probability of the young Americans to get higher incomes than their parents will no longer be 50%. The young faction of the US population have tougher days ahead because even earning as their parents did will be very hard for them. Over the past half century, the American Dream of children earning more than their parents has dropped by 40%. Initially, the possibilities stood at 90% and the figure has fallen to 50% (Attanasio, et al. 112). An interesting fact is that America has similar economic policies as other European nations with comparable economies but what happens in America in relation to inequality is not experienced in the other countries. The policy analysis by the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) between America and other countries like Canada, Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands suggest that the nations have similar economic guidelines and that most of the countries copied from the US. In spite of the countries having analogous economic principles, the degree of inequality in the US is not comparable to any of the other states (Smeeding 70). As countries like Belgium are nearing their target of closing the gap between the rich and the poor by strengthening the middle class, America is still experiencing the contrary. The analysis suggests that the economic policy makers are not to blame for the disparities in the country because the problem lies with the implementers of the policies. The implementation of economic plans has been interfered with by the politics of the country. The political class have introduced some changes in the policy implementation process that has highly affected the efforts to close the ever widening gap. Most of the changes aim at increasing productivity from American workers but their earnings remain constant (Stiglitz 430). Many economists have attributed the growing inequality in the US to the decline of workers’ unions. The unions played a central role in ensuring better pays for workers. In the 1960s, more than a third of the US employees belonged to unions but the percentage is less than 10 in the present days. The lack of collective bargaining through is the single major factor suppressing wage growth amongst middle wage workers. Lack of income growth seem to be the main aspect for the growing disparities because as the rich continue to earn more money from their business organizations as a result of increased productivity by their employees who have been earning same wage for long. The main function of the trade unions was to address such issues through bargaining for improved payments for their members. The political involvement in the formation and operations of unions has completely sabotaged the efforts by unions to come up with proposals for payment formulas for workers. The lack of bargaining for improved incomes for US workers will continue to expand the income disparities in America (Yalnizyan 73). Inter-country comparison of inequality has been complicated by various factors for instance, lack of official measure of poverty. There are very few developed nations that have consistent official poverty sequences. Measures of poverty are the most reliable ways of comparing inequality between countries. It is only America and the United Kingdom that produce regular reports on poverty situations in their countries every year. Some countries like Canada only produce estimated number of people living below the poverty line but Australia does not do it on a regular basis as it is required. Most nations from the northern part of Europe do not calculate official levels of poverty or low income. The level of poverty can be determined through measuring the comparative terms by comparing to median income. The level can as well be measured in absolute terms by comparing to the purchasing of basic necessities. In comparisons between countries, poverty ought to be treated generally as a relative concept because in analyzing poverty in different countries that have dissimilar levels of per capita GDP, an absolute standard of poverty will either exceedingly low rates in some nations and high rates in some or both. Another problem encountered for inequality comparisons between countries is that countries lack standardized procedures of determining income inequality and comparing results produced by varied procedures is not possible (Smeeding 71). Income inequality in the United States of America is a critical issue that need to be addressed with seriousness. Inequality has been on the rise within the last three decades and the gap between the poor and the rich is expected to grow further if the same trend continues. America has the highest level of inequality compared to other European nations despite the countries having similar economic policies like the US. Reversing the level of inequality to achieve low levels experienced in other developed countries will be a major challenge for US. There will be need to change several aspects related to policy formation, as well as implementation of policies. The level of inequality in the US has turned the American Dream into a myth because the situation cannot permit the attainment of equal opportunities for all Americans. Works Cited Attanasio, Orazio, et al. "The Evolution of Income, Consumption, and Leisure Inequality in The US, 1980-2010." 2012. Nichols, Austin. "Income inequality, volatility, and mobility risk in China and the US." China Economic Review, vol. 21, 2010, pp. S3-S11. Smeeding, Timothy. "Poor People in Rich Nations: The United States in Comparative Perspective."Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 20, no. 1, 2006, pp. 69-90. Stiglitz, Joseph E. "The Origins of Inequality, and Policies to Contain It." National Tax Journal, vol. 68, no. 2, 2015, pp. 425-448. Yalnizyan, Armine. "8. How Growing Income Inequality Affects Us All." Democratic Equality, 2001.

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Is higher inequality the price America pays for faster growth?

A look at the potential downsides of outperformance.

T HINK ABOUT income inequality in America and some archetypes easily come to mind. Start with a rich corporate lawyer, earning above the roughly $1m annual income (before taxes and transfers) that places a household in the top 1% of earners. At the other end of the scale, in the bottom 20%, a single mother with a fast-food job might have an income of $25,000. Between them, a home with a mechanic and a part-time teaching assistant might have annual earnings of $80,000, around the median.

The skew towards the top is sharp. America ranks as the most unequal big rich-world country (see chart). Combined with lower average incomes elsewhere, the pay of America’s top workers looks astonishing to European eyes. For comparison, it takes the equivalent of a mere $250,000 or so to enter the top 1% of two-person households in Britain.

It would be natural to conclude that high inequality is merely the flipside of America’s wealth. That is probably true to an extent. Yet America has grown more redistributive over the period examined by this special report, expanding the earned-income tax credit, a wage top-up for low earners, in the 1990s, and subsidies for health insurance in the 2010s. And it is not clear that tolerance for inequality is powering its economic outperformance over the past decade.

Take the corporate lawyer. Even after taxes and transfers, the average real income of households like his grew by 110% from 1990 to 2019, according to the Congressional Budget Office ( CBO ).  But most of that growth took place early in the time period: in 2019 he was probably doing worse than his equivalent in 2007, before the global financial crisis.

By contrast incomes in the lowest 20% of households, in which the fast-food worker resides, surged in the tight labour market of the late-2010s. By 2019 she was enjoying after-tax-and-transfer household income 25% higher than those like her in 2007, in part thanks to “Obamacare”. Even over the full period since 1990, the bottom quintile’s after-tax-and-transfer income growth was 77%, the same as for the highest quintile—thus, excluding the highest-earning 1% from the top 20% would show the poor enjoying faster income growth than the upper-middle-class. In the 2020s the burger-flipper probably had a boost from the tight post-pandemic labour market, which lifted wage growth the most at the bottom end of the income distribution.

It is the mechanic and teaching assistant in the middle who have the best claim to having missed the party: median real income rose by 57% from 1990 to 2019. But that is still a healthy 1.6% per year—a far cry from the stagnation in median earnings that is sometimes alleged, based in part on an inflation index, the CPI , which is biased upwards.

Some argue that things are different. The CBO numbers are in the middle of the range of income-inequality estimates. Calculations by economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman show a rise in after-tax-and-transfer inequality that is sharper, while those by Gerald Auten and David Splinter, published in July in the Journal of Political Economy , show a much smaller increase (see chart). Income inequality is also only one type of inequality: nobody disputes that wealth inequality has risen this century (even if most estimates wrongly ignore the value of the single mother’s future entitlement to social security payments in old age). America faces other social problems which can exacerbate a sense of inequality.

The striking thing is how little these problems seem to have exacted an economic toll. Once inequality reaches very high levels, rent-seeking by elites imperils economic growth. America’s experience suggests that it remains on the right side of this threshold. ■

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Income distribution, inequality and poverty: evidence, explanations and policies.

Conflicts of Interest

List of contributions.

• Hussain, J.; Siyal, S.; Ahmad, R.; Abbas, Q.; Yitian, Y.; Jin, L. Impact of Energy Crises on Income Inequality: An Application of Piketty’s Hypothesis to Pakistan. Economies   2024 , 12 , 259. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100259 .
• Seabela, M.; Ogujiuba, K.; Eggink, M. Determinants of Income Inequality in South Africa: A Vector Error Correction Model Approach. Economies   2024 , 12 , 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12070169 .
• Seip, K.L.; Sandnes, F.E. The Timing and Strength of Inequality Concerns in the UK Public Debate: Google Trends, Elections and the Macroeconomy. Economies   2024 , 12 , 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12060135 .
• Valentini, E. Patterns of Intergenerational Educational (Im)Mobility. Economies   2024 , 12 , 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12060126 .
• Croci Angelini, E.; Farina, F.; Sorana, S. The Impact of the Great Recession on Well-Being across Europe Ten Years On: A Cluster Analysis. Economies   2024 , 12 , 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12050115 .
• Davidescu, A.A.; Lobonţ, O.-R.; Nae, T.M. The Fabric of Transition: Unraveling the Weave of Labor Dynamics, Economic Structures, and Innovation on Income Disparities in Central and Eastern Europe Nations. Economies   2024 , 12 , 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12030068 .
• Davidescu, A.A.; Nae, T.M.; Florescu, M.-S. From Policy to Impact: Advancing Economic Development and Tackling Social Inequities in Central and Eastern Europe. Economies   2024 , 12 , 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12020028 .
• de Castro Romero, L.; Barroso, V.M.; Santero-Sánchez, R. Does Gender Equality in Managerial Positions Improve the Gender Wage Gap? Comparative Evidence from Europe. Economies   2023 , 11 , 301. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11120301 .
• Fabiani, M. Unraveling the Roots of Income Polarization in Europe: A Divided Continent. Economies   2023 , 11 , 217. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11080217 .
• Aarstad, J.; Kvitastein, O.A.; Wage Inequality’s Decreasing Effect on Enterprise Operating Revenues. Economies   2023 , 11 , 178. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11070178 .
• Petrakos, G.; Rontos, K.; Vavoura, C.; Vavouras, I. The Impact of Recent Economic Crises on Income Inequality and the Risk of Poverty in Greece. Economies   2023 , 11 , 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11060166 .

Share and Cite

Clementi, F. Income Distribution, Inequality and Poverty: Evidence, Explanations and Policies. Economies 2024 , 12 , 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100276

Clementi F. Income Distribution, Inequality and Poverty: Evidence, Explanations and Policies. Economies . 2024; 12(10):276. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100276

Clementi, Fabio. 2024. "Income Distribution, Inequality and Poverty: Evidence, Explanations and Policies" Economies 12, no. 10: 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100276

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