Inequality – AS/A LEVELS/IB/IAL
Inequality – AS/A LEVELS/IB/IAL
Exam Boards: Edexcel, AQA, WJEC, CIE, OCR. Level: AS/A LEVELS/IB/IAL
Inequality
Inequality is the unequal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society.
What is the difference between income and wealth?
Income
Income is a flow concept, e.g. the money earned over a period of time. This is usually generated from a salary.
Wealth
This is a stock concept and to do with the assets a person owns. E.g. property, shares, car, yacht etc.
What can be used to measure Income Inequality
The Lorenz Curve
The Lorenz curve highlights the income distribution of a country against its population.
Source: qualifications.pearson.com
The further the Lorenz curve is from the 45-degree line, the less equal the distribution of income will be.
Perfect equality would be, for example, where 50% of the population gain 50% of the income or 70% of the population gain 70% of the income.
Gini coefficient
- A Gini coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, where all values are the same (for example, where everyone has the same income).
- A Gini coefficient of one (or 100%) expresses maximal inequality among values (e.g., for a large number of people, where only one person has all the income)