Income Inequality

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  Significant disparity in the distribution of income between individuals, groups, populations, social classes, or countries.

• Key Drivers

  Tax and labor policies, discrimination, segmented labor markets, corporate power, weakened middle class, and educational disparities

• Gini Coefficient Range

  0 (perfect equality) to 100 (perfect inequality)

• Primary Measurement Tools

  Gini coefficient, income ratios (e.g., top 10% share vs bottom 10%)

Timeline

• Income inequality begins rising steadily in the United States, with the top 1 percent of earners experiencing a significant increase in their share of national income over the subsequent decades. (Source: https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality)

  1970-01-01

• Start of a period (1979-2007) of sharp divergence in U.S. after-tax income, where the top 1% income grew by 275% compared to 18% for the bottom fifth. (Source: https://www.britannica.com/money/income-inequality)

  1979-01-01

• Beginning of a multi-decade period (1980-2020) where the richest 10% increased their share of national income most rapidly in countries like India, Russia, South Africa, Poland, China, Korea, and the United States. (Source: https://inequality.org/facts/global-inequality)

  1980-01-01

• Income inequality within most developed countries and some middle-income countries, including China and India, begins to increase significantly. (Source: https://www.un.org/en/un75/inequality-bridging-divide)

  1990-01-01

• In the United States, the top 5 percent of households receive more than 24 percent of total after-tax income, while the lowest 20 percent receive slightly more than 6 percent. (Source: https://www.britannica.com/money/income-inequality)

  2010-01-01

List of countries by income inequality

This is a list of countries and territories by income inequality metrics, as calculated by the World Bank, UNU-WIDER, OCDE, and World Inequality Database, based on different indicators, like the Gini coefficient and specific income ratios. Income from black market economic activity is not included. The Gini coefficient is a number between 0 and 100, where 0 represents perfect equality (everyone has the same income). Meanwhile, an index of 100 implies perfect inequality (one person has all the income, and everyone else has no income). Income ratios include the pre-tax national income share held by the top 10% of the population and the ratio of the upper bound value of the ninth decile (i.e., the 10% of people with the highest income) to that of the upper bound value of the first decile (the ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%). Income distribution can vary greatly from wealth distribution in a country.

Web Search Results

• Understanding Income Inequality: Key Causes and Measurements

  ## Strategies for Reducing 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. Innovations in financial technology and production are improving banking services for low-income earners as part of a global push for financial inclusion. In addition, income inequality will be addressed more successfully when political, economic, and social leaders can agree on basic approaches to its improvement: [...] In the United States, income inequality has been rising since the 1970s, exacerbated by tax and labor policies, discrimination, and a weakened middle class. [...] Gender Ethnicity Geographic location Occupation Historical income ## Measuring Income Inequality: Tools and Techniques 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 method is to compare the income of the lowest-earning group 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.

• Income inequality | Definition, Kinds, & Facts | Britannica Money

  Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski income inequality, in economics, significant disparity in the distribution of income between individuals, groups, populations, social classes, or countries. Income inequality is a major dimension of social stratification and social class. It affects and is affected by many other forms of inequality, such as inequalities of wealth, political power, and social status. Income is a major determinant of quality of life, affecting the health and well-being of individuals and families, and varies by social factors such as sex, age, and race or ethnicity. [...] In 2010, the top 5 percent of U.S. households received more than 24 percent of total after-tax income, while the lowest 20 percent received slightly more than 6 percent. Income inequality in the United States has been rising since 1979. From 1979 to 2007, average after-tax income increased by 18 percent for the bottom fifth of the population and by 275 percent for the top 1 percent. During that period, the share of total after-tax income received by the top fifth of the population increased by 10 percent (most of that amount went to the top 1 percent), while the share received by the bottom four-fifths decreased by 2 to 3 percent. There are also sharp income disparities by race, age, and sex. While the male-female wage gap in the United States has been decreasing, in part because of [...] Despite popular belief that income inequality largely reflects individual differences in talent and motivation, there are also significant structural and cultural causes, such as segmented labour markets, discrimination, institutionalized racism and sexism, gender roles, and family responsibilities. Other legal, political, and economic factors—such as corporate power, degree of private versus public (or common) ownership and control of resources, collective-bargaining frameworks, and minimum-wage laws—also affect income levels independently of individual traits. Income inequalities can have different implications for levels of well-being in different countries, depending on whether other basic needs such as housing, health care, and food are largely market-based and on whether people have

• Global Inequality

  #### Global Income Inequality World Inequality Report data show that the share of national income going to the richest 10 percent has increased in nearly every country. The 10 countries where the richest 10 percent increased their share of the national economic pie the most between 1980-2020 are India, Russia, South Africa, Poland, China, Korea, the United States, Australia, Germany, and Japan. In several of these countries, the sharp increase in inequality has coincided with the rollback of various post-World War II policies aimed at narrowing economic divides.

• Inequality – Bridging the Divide | United Nations

  ### Income inequality within countries is getting worse Income inequality between countries has improved, yet income inequality within countries has become worse. Today, 71 percent of the world’s population live in countries where inequality has grown. This is especially important because inequalities within countries are the inequalities people feel day to day, month to month, year to year. This is how people stack up and compare themselves with their neighbours, family members, and society. Since 1990, income inequality has increased in most developed countries and in some middle-income countries, including China and India. [...] ### Income inequality between countries has improved For the most part we have seen income inequality between countries improve in the last 25 years, meaning average incomes in developing countries are increasing at a faster rate. This can be accredited to strong economic growth in China and other emerging economies in Asia. However, the gap between countries is still considerable. For example, the average income of people living in North America is 16 times higher than that of people in sub-Saharan Africa. ### Income inequality within countries is getting worse [...] This matters because rapid rises in incomes at the top are driving and exacerbating within country income inequality. From 1990 to 2015, the share of income going to the top 1 per cent of the global population increased in 46 out of 57 countries with data. Meanwhile, in more than half of the 92 countries with data, the bottom 40 per cent receive less than 25 per cent of overall income. ### In your society, who you are, matters

• Income Inequality

  #### CEO-Worker Pay Gaps #### Income Inequality Income includes the revenue streams from wages, salaries, interest on a savings account, dividends from shares of stock, rent, and profits from selling something for more than you paid for it. Unlike wealth statistics, income figures do not include the value of homes, stock, or other possessions. Income inequality refers to the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population. Dashboard 1 [...] is still $2.13. While employers are technically supposed to make up the difference if workers don’t earn enough in tips to reach the $7.25 federal minimum, this rule is largely unenforced. [...] Dashboard 1 Since 1970, the top 1 percent of American earners have enjoyed a 10 percentage point increase in their share of national income, according to figures in the World Inequality Database. Meanwhile, the Census Bureau’s “official” poverty rate for all U.S. families has declined by merely 1.8 points. In 2011, the Census Bureau began publishing a “supplemental” poverty measure that is more accurate but still likely understates the number of people in the world’s richest country who have to struggle to make ends meet. Federal pandemic relief legislation significantly reduced child poverty rates, but those programs were temporary.