The Problem of Income Inequality

Author(s):  
Andrew Smithers

Living standards change in line with GDP per head only if the distribution of incomes is unchanged. If incomes become less equally distributed the living standards of most people will fall even if GDP per head is stable. The Gini Coefficient is the most widely used indicator designed to measure the distribution of income. UK inequality, on this measure, has risen since 1977, stabilized since 1987, and fallen in recent years. In the US there has been a long-term increase in income inequality. Unless this US trend for increased income inequality halts, it is quite likely that even if GDP per head rises in the US, the living standard of the average voter will fall. The recent data suggest that changes in income inequality pose less of a threat to living standards in the UK then they do to those in the US.

Author(s):  
John R. Hipp ◽  
Jae Hong Kim

AbstractRising income inequality is a critical problem in both the global North and South. In the United States, the Gini coefficient measuring nationwide income inequality rose from 0.403 in 1980 to 0.480 in 2014 (US Census), and residential segregation by income has increasingly occurred in many metropolitan regions and is particularly reflected in the spatial separation of the wealthiest households. This chapter focuses on the change in the level of income inequality in the Los Angeles region since 1980 and how it is related to changes in residential segregation between economic groups over that same time period. We use data from the US Census collected in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010. We measure residential segregation between economic groups based on occupational structure, and measure ‘neighbourhoods’ using Census tracts: these are units defined by the US Census and typically average about 4,000 residents. The overall level of inequality in the region is measured at each decade point using the Gini coefficient for household income. Maps demonstrate where different socioeconomic status groups have tended to locate and how economic segregation has changed in Los Angeles over this time period. We also assess the extent to which changes in inequality are related to changes in economic segregation over the last four and a half decades.


Humanomics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-257
Author(s):  
Ferdi Celikay ◽  
Mehmet Sengur

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between public sector education expenditure and the GINI coefficient as a measure of injustice in income distribution. Design/methodology/approach Data from 31 European countries gathered from 2004 to 2011 were analyzed using panel error correction models. Findings According to the study’s findings, a relationship between education expenditures and the GINI coefficient exists. There is a 1 per cent increase for the European countries examined in this study in their rate of education expenditure in gross domestic product (GDP), which raises the GINI coefficient by 0.20 per cent in the short-term and decreases it by 0.22 per cent in the long-term, as expected. Thus, an increase in the proportion of education expenditures in GDP affects the GINI coefficient in a statistically significant, negative way over the long-term. Originality/value This study fills a gap in the literature by determining whether the interaction between education expenditure and GINI coefficient changes in the short- and long-term. The results show that education expenditure generates positive results particularly by lowering income inequality in the long-term. This interaction can be more clearly observed in developing countries. So this conclusion adds an important empirical evidence to the literature and it may contribute in forming policies toward reducing income inequality.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bobby V. Reddy

Big Tech has flourished on the US public markets in recent years with numerous blue-chip IPOs, from Google and Facebook, to new kids on the block such as Snap, Zoom, and Airbnb. A key trend is the burgeoning use of dual-class stock. Dual-class stock enables founders to divest of equity and generate finance for growth through an IPO, without losing the control they desire to pursue their long-term, market-disrupting visions. Bobby Reddy scrutinises the global history of dual-class stock, evaluates the conceptual and empirical evidence on dual-class stock, and assesses the approach of the London Stock Exchange and ongoing UK regulatory reforms to dual-class stock. A policy roadmap is presented that optimally supports the adoption of dual-class stock while still protecting against its potential abuses, which will more effectively attract high-growth, innovative companies to the UK equity markets, boost the economy, and unleash the true potential of 'founders without limits'.


1980 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Angus Hislop

This paper is based mainly on a study carried out in 1976/7 for the UK Department of Industry into the long-term development of air traffic control systems in Europe by a team drawn from the Civil Aviation Authority, the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment and private industry, in which Coopers and Lybrand provided the economic expertise.Until the early 1970s, air traffic control was almost completely neglected by air transport economists. Economists contributed to the planning of airports and airline operations but not to the third facet of the air transport system. However, in 1970–1, in conjunction with a programme of expansion and improvement of the country's airports and airways, the US Department of Transportation launched a major study of the airport and airways system. This was designed to establish an equitable charging policy between the different categories of user but in the event its recommendations in this area have only recently begun to be followed.


e-Finanse ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 20-32
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Golebiowski ◽  
Piotr Szczepankowski ◽  
Dorota Wisniewska

Abstract The article examines the impact of financialization on income inequality between 2004 and 2013, through a panel analysis of seven European countries. Moreover, it attempts to examine differences in the perception of the phenomenon between the selected European countries belonging to the G-7 and countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The results demonstrate the existence of individual effects, which means that the level of inequality under examination is influenced predominantly by country-specific factors. The most significant correlation is noticeable between the level of unemployment and the degree of income inequality. An increase in unemployment is accompanied by a rise in the disproportions in the level of income that individual citizens have at their disposal whereas a decrease in the unemployment level contributes to an improvement of the GINI coefficient. Simultaneously, the results confirm the existence of significant correlations between the level of the GINI coefficient and such financialization indicators as the share of employment in finance in total employment and the contribution of the financial sector to total value added creation. The most prominent dependency was discovered when a constructed synthetic indicator was adopted as an indicator of financialization. At the same time, analysis of the synthetic country financialization indicator points to a conclusion that the level of financialization is higher in European countries belonging to the G-7 (especially Great Britain) than in countries from Central and Eastern Europe.


2021 ◽  
pp. 172-190
Author(s):  
Francis Teal

While all the evidence we have points to the rising living standards for most of the very poorest, the wages of unskilled labour in poor countries remain a fraction of those in rich countries. Those potential workers are seen as a threat to the living standards of the unskilled in rich countries and the political impetus to limit their access to those labour markets has been, and remains, one of the most potent issue in the politics of rich countries. This aversion to immigration as a threat to the wages of the unskilled often transmutes into a hostility to trade, as goods, which use a lot of unskilled labour, can be imported more cheaply. Both immigration and trade are seen as a threat to the unskilled. Two dimensions of this threat are examined in this chapter—the impact of Chinese exports on wages in the US and the impact of immigration on the UK economy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jed Boardman ◽  
Nisha Dogra ◽  
Peter Hindley

Poverty and income inequality have increased in the UK since the 1970s. Poverty and mental ill-health are closely associated and disadvantage can have long-term consequences. In addition, the recent recession and austerity measures have had a detrimental effect on people with mental health problems and the mental health of the population. Mental health services can play a role in addressing the problems of poverty and inequality.


2005 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 159-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAI-BO HU ◽  
LIN WANG

The Gini coefficient, which was originally used in microeconomics to describe income inequality, is introduced into the research of general complex networks as a metric on the heterogeneity of network structure. Some parameters such as degree exponent and degree-rank exponent were already defined in the case of scale-free networks also as a metric on the heterogeneity. In scale-free networks, the Gini coefficient is proved to be equivalent to the parameters mentioned above, and moreover, a classification of infinite scale-free networks is given according to the value of the Gini coefficient.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S McGurk ◽  
T Majeed ◽  
C Magee

Abstract Introduction Post-operative pain relief commonly involves opiates. Rising concerns about misuse has increased scrutiny of prescribing practices. In the UK, 12.5% of prescriptions are for opiates. In the US, the Department of Health and Human Services has declared an epidemic of opiate misuse. We aimed to evaluate opiate prescribing practices post-operatively, within a UK teaching hospital, and establish the risk of prolonged opiate use. Method A pan-speciality retrospective observational cohort study was performed. Patients who underwent surgery in the year 2018 were included. Patients were opiate naïve if their admission Medicine reconciliation and GP record described no opiates for the previous year. Endpoints: the proportion of patients discharged with opiates and the proportion of patients remaining on opiates at 1- and 2-years post admission. Results 20526 operations were performed on 17524 patients, across pan-specialities. 8772 patients were discharged on opiates. 673 required further opiates from their GP after discharge, of which 331 were previously opiate naive. At 1 year post op, 180 previously naive patients remained on opiates. Conclusions Attention needs to be given to the risk of developing opiate dependence post-operatively. An evidence-based approach should support clinicians in preventing an opiate crisis in the UK.


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