The gini coefficient measures inequality.
"From 2000 the level of inequality as expressed by this measure has been static or tending to fall."
Over the same period two countries that had greater annual change (+) were Sweden and Finland. Greece had the greatest negative annual change (-). That is, their gini coefficient dropped. Their equality increased. Yahoo.
Source of graph.
2 comments:
The recession in America made people there "more equal" but oddly no one was cheering about how good that was. But, then I'm not better off because a wealthy person is made worse off, even if we are then more equal. In fact, I could be actually worse off because of increased equality. Say he owns a grocery store but doesn't have insurance on it. It burns down. He loses everything. I shop there all the time, it is closest shop to me and the lowest priced. He is much, much worse off. Our level of inequality shifted dramatically and we are now much more equal, yet I'm worse off.
At some point people will figure out that relative standing is not an important as individual well being.
The footnote to that graph, in the original source publication - an MSD research report - states:
"The 2009 figure calls for comment. Last year’s report noted that ‘another year’s data is needed to assess whether the rise from 2007 to 2009 represents a return to the longer-run rising trend, or is just a statistical fluctuation arising from the variation that could be expected from sampling uncertainties’. The 2010 figure indicates that it was not the former. Whether it was a ‘blip’ or was a reflection of a real-life rise remains unclear. Note that the percentile ratios unambiguously fell from 2007 to 2009. The Gini can jump around quite significantly when comparing one survey year with the next. For example in 1993 (31.8) and 1997 (33.1) the measured values are quite different from the respective preceding and following years. 1989, 1991 and 1995 fit with the years either side."
Source (Word doc)
Post a Comment