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Academic essays on income inequality
Income and wealth inequality sociology
Academic essays on income inequality
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The relationship, as to if income inequality reduces economic growth, is one that has been closely looked at by various economists over the years. Most of them conduct studies to find a negative correlation between inequality and overall growth. In this essay I will debate the effects of inequality on economic growth and vice versa, if such effects occur. I will also explore how inequality is measured and why the existing studies into this issue need to be inferred with attention as measures of inequality can be inconsistent. Inequality is measured in different ways using data on income (gross and net) or expenditure. The unit of measurement can also vary from the individual or the household etc. [2] Due to this variation, we would expect to attain different measures of inequality according to which of the above arrangements is used. It is important to use data that is constantly measured in empirical studies. For example all countries inequality would be measured using gross income. Empirical work should not consist of data that are, for example, based on income for some countries a...
Wealth inequality did not always exist in human life. In fact, “Human life have not only been changed, but revolutionized, within the past hundred years” (Carnegie 1). There used to be
Nevertheless, as income inequality as well as gender inequality are the two outstanding types of inequality equippe...
Fletcher, Michael. “Income Inequality Hurts Economic Growth, The Washington Post. N.p., 24 Jan. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Wealth inequality is a real issue that needs to be fixed. The imbalanced growth of the upper class compared to the middle class is a danger to American society as a whole. The rich becoming richer while the middle class remains the same leads to a power imbalance, with the rich using their money to run the country the way they see fit while the middle class speaks to ears that do not listen. The issue of wealth inequality needs to be fixed by raising taxes on the rich.
Income inequality in the United States has increased and decreased throughout history, but in the recent years, the widening gap has become a serious issue. Income inequality is usually measured by Gini coefficient. According to this method coefficient varies between 0 and 100; while 0 represents complete equality (income is distributed equally among all the population of the country), 100 represents complete inequality (only one person receives all the country’s income, while the rest of the population receives nothing). According to the Census of Bureau, the official Gini coefficient in the U.S. was 46.9 in 2010. This is way higher than the all-time low coefficient of 38.6 set in 1968 (qtd. in Babones).
“A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality.” cbpp.org. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2013. Web. 06 April. 2014. .
America 's economy is dependent on the middle class. Slowly, the middle class is beginning to decrease. Soon enough there will be only the wealthy and the poor. Economic inequality is the gap between the upper class and the lower class. It is a problem that is growing everyday. Technology, education, race, gender, and globalization are the main causes of economic inequality. Each one of these causes contributes to the vicious cycle of economic inequality. The battle for our country 's financial wellbeing is upon us.
... be said about the overall effects of wealth inequality? As supported previously, income inequality among different racial groups will be more intense than if it were solely based on the changes in class income inequality. This is because minority groups are affected by racial inequality in addition to the affects of class. The results are shown through the processes involved in the Great Compression, the reduction in inequality, and its counterpart the Great Divergence, where equality increases.
Inequality as previously mentioned is a subject that gets debated when brought up and in any debate there is two sides. In class we have discussed both side of the story of inequality, and it has give me a better perspectives of income inequality. When discussion income inequality, we brought up the concept of the economic pie in which states that the economic pie is a reference to the way income gets distributed among the lower, middle, and higher class of America. So the concept of the economic pie states that the rich is getting richer, so they are
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
Inequality is known as the instance or condition of being unequal (Anon., 2003), therefore saying that inequality is when there are differences and when this is linked with the worldwide financial crisis, ‘it draws great attention to the world of the super-rich and the increases in inequality since 1980, which is returning the country back to a degree of inequality which was last seen around 1929 or maybe even 1913’ (Morrill, 2008). This demonstrates that inequality has been an increasing problem, but should this inequality affect us and affect us in the terms of health disparity?
The line was extremely long and people would be camped outside just so they could see a doctor. Many people who were there had serious injuries and sicknesses and hadn’t seen a doctor or dentist in a very long time. One gentleman in particular was so sick that the doctors strongly suggested he go to the emergency room, that his sickness could be fatal. However, in the end, the gentlemen refused to go to the emergency because the medical bill would be extremely high. Income inequality is a social problem because a lot of people in society are affected in a negative way because of it.
If income inequality continues to grow, the economy will break down. For example, if the housing price continues to rise because of the rich people, poor people will not have a place to live since they cannot afford to buy these expensive houses. When this happens, it will create another housing bubble because the houses are not worth buying, which means the market value of the house exceeds the house’s value; therefore, nobody will buy the house including the riches since they already have houses to live. Moreover, poor people do not believe they can get access to wealth because they cannot afford anything, and they cannot afford the tuition fees for a good education, which is the traditional route to success.
Stewart, Charles T., Jr. "Inequality of Wealth and Income in a Technologically Advanced Society." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 27.4 (2002): 495-512. Print.
The Relationship between Globalization, Economic Growth and Income Inequality. (2010, January). TEMEP Discussion Paper. Retrieved from ftp://147.46.237.98/DP-51.pdf