scholarly journals The Inequality We Want: How Much Is Too Much?

2015 ◽  
Vol 06 (03) ◽  
pp. 1550016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Krozer
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Measurement Of Inequality ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Income Concentration

A key aspect defining the contemporary income distribution is the (increasing) share the top holds compared to the rest. This paper shows that income concentration increases towards the very top of the distribution, while the shares the middle- and upper–middle-income groups hold remain stable across countries and over time. Traditional indicators less sensitive to changes at the extremes of the distribution might obscure inequality's actual dimension, and thereby help perpetuate it. To avoid this, the present paper discusses a complementary indicator for the measurement of inequality: The ratio of the income share of the top 5% over that of the bottom 40%. The indicator is denominated Palma v.2, in reference to the recently suggested "Palma ratio" dividing the income share of the top 10% income earners by those at the bottom 40%.

An Empirical Investigation of the income share of the middle class

2019 ◽  
pp. 50-65
Author(s):  
Francesco Farina ◽  
Chiara Assunta Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Directional Relation ◽  
Middle Income Group ◽  
Income Dispersion

The scientific evaluation of the relationship between growth, redistribution, and the income share of the middle class is still in its infancy. This article aims to investigate how the drivers of economic growth impinge on market income distribution and how the middle class has a role in deciding the level of redistribution. Our strategy is to dodge the reverse causality problem, stemming from the bi-directional relation between income distribution and growth, by exploiting the peculiar feature of different indicators of income dispersion focused on the middle income group. The findings reveal that market forces and redistributive policies are both pivotal in shaping the evolution of income dispersion and in particular the income share of the middle class, over the growth process. The ability of redistributive policies to counteract the ongoing increase in income inequality seems to depend not only on the political pressure exerted by an impoverishing median voter but also on the expansion of fiscal revenues after sustained Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

When Violence Has a Benevolent Face: The Paradox of Hunger in the World's Wealthiest Democracy

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Larry Brown
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tax Policies ◽  
Economic Deprivation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Groups

During the last two decades, Americans initially discovered that millions of fellow-citizens were going hungry, then acted to virtually eliminate the problem, and, in the 1980s, learned that hunger has reappeared in epidemic proportions. Hunger, particularly in a wealthy democracy, is most appropriately seen as a form of institutionalized violence, the product of ideologies that fail to distribute national abundance in a manner that achieves the possible goal of preventing hunger. The return of hunger to the United States is associated with economic and tax policies that have reallocated income distribution from poor and middle-income groups to the wealthy, and with a concomitant reluctance to utilize the federal government to protect needy citizens from undernutrition associated with growing economic deprivation.

scholarly journals Inequality, Leverage, and Crises

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 1217-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kumhof ◽  
Romain Rancière ◽  
Pablo Winant
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
High Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Share ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Income Ratio ◽  
Low And Middle Income

The paper studies how high household leverage and crises can be caused by changes in the income distribution. Empirically, the periods 1920–1929 and 1983–2008 both exhibited a large increase in the income share of high-income households, a large increase in debt leverage of low- and middle-income households, and an eventual financial and real crisis. The paper presents a theoretical model where higher leverage and crises are the endogenous result of a growing income share of high-income households. The model matches the profiles of the income distribution, the debt-to-income ratio and crisis risk for the three decades preceding the Great Recession. (JEL D14, D31, D33, E32, E44, G01, N22)

Income distribution and middle-income groups across the world

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Pelin Sekerler Richiardi ◽  
Marva Corley-Coulibaly ◽  
Hassan Kashef
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The World

Changes in treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis according to national income

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 2001394
Author(s):  
Nakwon Kwak ◽  
Nicholas Winters ◽  
Jonathon R. Campbell ◽  
Edward D. Chan ◽  
Medea Gegia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
National Income ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Levels ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Group A ◽  
Over Time

The aim of this study was to analyse temporal changes in treatments for and outcomes of multidrug-resistant (MDR)/rifampin-resistant (RR)-tuberculosis (TB) in the context of national economic status.We analysed data collected by the Collaborative Group for the Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data in MDR-TB Treatment on MDR/RR-TB patients from 37 countries. The data were stratified by three national income levels (low-/lower-middle, upper-middle and high) and grouped by time of treatment initiation (2001–2003, 2004–2006, 2007–2009, 2010–2012 and 2013–2015). Temporal trends over the study period were analysed. The probability of treatment success in different income groups over time was calculated using generalised linear mixed models with random effects.In total, 9036 patients were included in the analysis. Over the study period, use of group A drugs (levofloxacin/moxifloxacin, bedaquiline and linezolid) recommended by the World Health Organization increased and treatment outcomes improved in all income groups. Between 2001–2003 and 2013–2015, treatment success rates increased from 60% to 78% in low-/lower-middle-income countries, from 40% to 67% in upper-middle-income countries, and from 73% to 81% in high-income countries. In earlier years, the probability of treatment success in upper-middle-income countries was lower than that in low-/lower-middle-income countries, but no difference was observed after 2010. However, high-income countries had persistently higher probability of treatment success compared to upper-middle income countries.Improved treatment outcomes and greater uptake of group A drugs were observed over time for patients with MDR/RR-TB at all income levels. However, treatment outcomes are still unsatisfactory, especially in upper-middle-income countries.

scholarly journals Rising mean incomes for whom?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0242803
Author(s):  
Liang Frank Shao ◽  
Melanie Krause
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Effects ◽  
Parametric Estimation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Income Data ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Over Time

Not everybody is benefiting equally from rising mean incomes. We discuss the mean-income population share (MPS), the population percentage of earners below mean income, whose evolution can capture how representative rising mean values are for middle income households. Tracking MPS and its associated income share MIS over time indicates to what extent economic growth is inclusive of both the middle and the bottom of the income distribution. We characterize MPS and MIS analytically under different growth scenarios and compare their parametric estimation using micro-level and grouped income data. Our empirical application with panel data of 16 high- and middle-income countries shows that in the last decades rising mean incomes have mostly not favored middle income households in relative perspective, while the overall welfare effects of the changes in MPS and the correlation structure with the Gini coefficient are mixed.

scholarly journals Women in the Top of the Income Distribution: What Can We Learn From LIS-Data?

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-107
Author(s):  
Roman Bobilev ◽  
Anne Boschini ◽  
Jesper Roine
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Labour Income ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Accurate Picture ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Over Time

Abstract We explore the extent to which LIS-data can be used to shed light on the presence of women in the top of the income distribution. We show developments of the share of women in top groups (P90-100 and P99-100) of the labour income distribution for 28 countries and, when possible, compare to outcomes when including capital incomes. These turn out not to matter much for the share of women in top groups with some important exceptions. Relating our findings to the existing evidence on women in the top of the income distribution based on aggregate tax data, we find that LIS-data give a relatively accurate picture of the basic findings. However, we also note that once we divide the top1 group further, samples quickly become too small to allow further study. For countries where data allows such analysis, we find that having a partner and having children are positively associated with being in top income groups for men, but negatively associated for women. However, time interactions suggest that these differences have decreased over time. Also, top income men are more likely to have partners who are not in the top of the income distribution while this is not the case for top income women. All these results are surprisingly consistent across country groups.

International Publication Trends of Retinopathy of Prematurity Literature Over 40 Years

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 392-396
Author(s):  
Paras P. Vakharia ◽  
Natalie T. Huang ◽  
Michelle Jankowski ◽  
Benjamin J. Thomas ◽  
R. V. Paul Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinopathy Of Prematurity ◽  
Income Group ◽  
The United States ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Publication Trends ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Retrolental Fibroplasia ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Over Time

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the publication trends of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) literature over time, focusing on geographic and economic origins. Methods: A search for indexed English abstracts was performed in PubMed using search terms “retinopathy of prematurity” or “retrolental fibroplasia” from 1976 to 2015 and divided into 4 decades. Original research articles involving humans were included. Countries were grouped into high-, middle-, and low-income groups using World Bank criteria, and impact factors (IFs) were gathered from 2014 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports. Results: A total of 5425 publications were identified, of which 2045 met the inclusion criteria. The ratios of publications per decade increased over time: 1976 to 1985 (5.4%), 1986 to 1995 (15.8%), 1996 to 2005 (25%), 2006 to 2015 (53.7%; Pearson r = .93, 95% confidence interval: 0.87-0.96). The rates of publications by income group were high—(82.2%), middle—(17.7%), and low—(0.1%). Respective mean (standard deviation) IFs by income group were 2.79 (4.87), 1.23 (1.17), and 0.42 (0.45). Top producing countries were the United States (37%), the United Kingdom (6.7%), India (4.6%), Japan (3.9%), and Turkey (3.5%). There was a significant difference between the time distribution of publications between high- and middle-income groups, where the latter has produced increasing publications in recent years ( P < .001), but in journals with lower IFs overall ( P < .001). Conclusions: Publications regarding ROP are increasing in number. Investigators from middle-income countries are increasingly contributing to the ROP literature but, overall, may not be recognized yet in journals with high IFs.

Philanthropy and Income Inequality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Anderson ◽  
Ing-Haw Cheng ◽  
Harrison Hong
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Tax Policies ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Alternative Models ◽  
Tax Relief ◽  
Bill Gates ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
Tax Cuts

Bill Gates recently argued that philanthropy by households at the top of the income distribution might help ameliorate income inequality, and that tax policies should take this into account. Much of the research in economics on giving has been focused on middle-income households, so we know very little about the motives for giving by the very rich. We provide some initial evidence on what drives the giving of the richest Americans. First, we extrapolate anthropological evidence on how status concerns might influence philanthropy. Second, since the richest own a significant amount of equity, we use the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003 to see how their giving responded to unanticipated tax cuts, particularly for dividends. Third, we consider the welfare implications of philanthropy as opposed to alternative models for redistributing the wealth of the extremely rich.

scholarly journals Measurement of inequality of opportunity: A normative approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristof Bosmans ◽  
Z. Emel Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Inequality Of Opportunity ◽  
Welfare Gain ◽  
Allocation Rules ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Measurement Of Inequality

AbstractWe develop a normative approach to the measurement of inequality of opportunity. That is, we measure inequality of opportunity by the welfare gain obtained in moving from the actual income distribution to the optimal income distribution of the total available income. Our study brings together the main approaches in the literature: we axiomatically characterize social welfare functions, we obtain prominent allocation rules as their optima, and we derive familiar classes of inequality of opportunity measures. Our analysis captures moreover the key philosophical distinctions in the literature: ex post versus ex ante compensation, and liberal versus utilitarian reward.

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