[Peace-discuss] the joys of inequality - I Dream of Gini

Thu Oct 22 09:47:16 CDT 2009

Thanks for this, Carl -

The Gini - not to mention LBO - is always good reading.  I think he's probably right to be unsure about the precision of the comparisons, but who really cares if the US is *really* no. 3 or no. 2 or 4?  We get the point.

We might also add - extrapolating from Carl's punto favorito on taxes - if we were to look at *wealth* inequality, the US could even look worse than it does here.

Not trying to detract from the point, but rather to compound it -
Ricky

"Speak your mind even if your voice shakes." - Maggie Kuhn

--- On Wed, 10/21/09, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> wrote:

From: C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] the joys of inequality - I Dream of Gini
To: "E. Wayne Johnson" <ewj at pigs.ag>
Cc: "'Peace-discuss'" <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 11:47 PM

[Decanting the Gini.  Doug Henwood of the Left Business Observer posted the following, with the caution that "I'm not sure these figures are really comparable across borders."  --CGE]

    Business Week - October 16, 2009
    Countries with the Biggest Gaps Between Rich and Poor
    by Bruce Einhorn

The U.N. Development Program recently came out with a report looking, among other things, at income inequality worldwide.

The UNDP ranked countries and regions based on a number of factors, including their Gini coefficient, named for Italian statistician Corrado Gini.

We have listed the world's most advanced economies based on their Gini score, with zero marking absolute equality and 100 absolute inequality. Scandinavian countries, Japan, and the Czech Republic have the least amount of inequality. The U.S. is among the most unequal, but it's not No. 1. To see which economy is, read on.

*Top 11 Countries With the Biggest Gaps Between Rich and Poor *

*No. 1 Hong Kong*

*Gini score:* 43.4
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 207.2
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.0
Richest 10%: 34.9
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 17.8

Renowned for its high concentration of Rolls-Royces, expensive real
estate, and posh shops, the Chinese special administrative region has
plenty of rich who enjoy showing off their wealth. However, Hong Kong
also has one of the largest public housing sectors in the world, with
about half the population living in government-supported or -subsidized
housing estates. The city has no minimum wage—except for domestic
helpers from the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries.

*No. 2 Singapore*

*Gini score:* 42.5
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 161.3
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 1.9
Richest 10%: 32.8
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 17.7

Singapore is one of the world's most open economies, and it suffered
badly following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers last year. Recently,
though, the city-state's economy has rebounded, with GDP growing an
annualized 14.9% rate in the third quarter compared with the previous
quarter.

*No. 3 U.S.*

*Gini score:* 40.8
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 13,751.4
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 1.9
Richest 10%: 29.9
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 15.9

The share of income for the top percentile of Americans was 23.5% in
2007, the highest since 1928, according to Emmanuel Saez, a Berkeley
economist who won the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal in April.
Income for the top 0.01% hit a record-high 6.04%. And the recession may
be exacerbating income inequality.

*No. 4 Israel*

*Gini score:* 39.2
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 164.0
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.1
Richest 10%: 28.8
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 13.4

Gone are the days when Israel was one of the world's most egalitarian
societies. Early Labor Zionist pioneers built kibbutzim for Jewish
immigrants, but those collectives have fallen on hard times. The growing
number of /haredim/, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, with large families and men
who study the Torah rather than work has worsened the inequality problem.

*No. 5 Portugal*

*Gini score:* 38.5
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 222.8
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.0
Richest 10%: 29.8
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 15.0

While Portugal emerged from recession in the second quarter, the
unemployment rate tops 9%. The ruling Socialists retained power in
elections last month but lost seats to parties on the far left.

*No. 6 New Zealand*

*Gini score:* 36.2
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 135.7
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.2
Richest 10%: 27.8
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 12.5

According to the OECD, New Zealand had the biggest rise in inequality
among member nations in the two decades starting in the mid-1980s. The
country's economy emerged from recession in the second quarter, but with
growth of just 0.1%, the central bank is likely to keep interest rates
low until well into 2010.

*No. 7 (tie) Italy*

*Gini score:* 36.0
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 2,101.6
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.3
Richest 10%: 26.8
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 11.6

Italians are focused now on the melodrama surrounding embattled Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The political crisis comes at a time when
the economy is still mired in recession even as countries like Germany
and France are growing again.

*No. 7 (tie) Britain*

*Gini score:* 36.0
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 2,772.0
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.1
Richest 10%: 28.5
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 13.8

According to Britain's Institute of Fiscal Studies, a government-funded
think tank, the average national income, adjusted for inflation, grew
0.5% between 2004 and 2008. In contrast, the same figure for the top 90%
income bracket jumped 1.2% over the same period. That was predominantly
driven by large salaries and bonuses from the financial services sector
in the pre-credit crunch era.

*No. 9 Australia*

*Gini score:* 35.2
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 821.0
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.0
Richest 10%: 25.4
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 12.5

While developed economies elsewhere fell into recession, the Lucky
Country's good fortune held out, with Australia continuing to grow
thanks in part to strong demand from China for its resources. This month
the central bank raised interest rates, making Australia a leader among
countries moving away from monetary easing.

*No. 10 (tie) Ireland*

*Gini score:* 34.3
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 259.0
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.9
Richest 10%: 27.2
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 9.4

Put aside the old comparisons to Asia's tiger economies. Ireland's
workers are suffering badly from the recession; the unemployment rate
soared in August to 12.5%. That's the second-worst in the EU, behind
only Spain.

*No. 10 (tie) Greece*

*Gini score:* 34.3
*GDP 2007 (US$ billions):* 313.4
*Share of income or expenditure (%)*
Poorest 10%: 2.5
Richest 10%: 26.0
*Ratio of income or expenditure, share of top 10% to lowest 10%:* 10.2

Newly elected Prime Minister George Papandreou's government faces
potential disciplinary action from the European Union, which has
reprimanded Greece for a budget deficit of 6% of GDP, twice the EU
limit. The IMF projects the economy will shrink 0.8% this year.

    ###
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