In his article, Erik Sherman discusses a 2014 OECD report that found a direct link between rising income inequality and slower economic growth. The report explains that when wealth is concentrated at the top, lower-income households are less able to invest in education and skills. Over time, this weakens the overall productivity and growth potential of the economy. The article also references economic models that show how income inequality, especially in places with imperfect financial markets, leads to underinvestment in human capital, which then slows long-term development.
What I found especially interesting is how the article moves beyond the usual moral arguments against wealth inequality and shows that it’s also economically harmful. I’ve always thought of huge wealth gaps as…
For my TeachEcoknowmics Blog Comment #1, I read Erik Sherman's article "Income Inequality Hurts Economic Growth." The article outlines the concentration of income held by fewer people. Growth occurs due to people spending money, which is difficult to achieve if only a tiny percentage of the U.S. population has the wealth to do so. The gap between the upper, middle, and lower classes has been higher in the last 30 years than ever before. The United States is only second to Mexico in that manner. On the other hand, countries such as Greece and Turkey are decreasing inequality. The wealthy cannot take on the burden of growth if the rest of the population cannot since they are such a small…
Surprisingly this article talks about income redistribution to combat income inequality in the United States. This can only be done in two ways, vertical redistribution or horizontal redistribution. It seems as if horizontal redistribution could be the best choice, as it can include the funding of public services. However, the problem also at hand involves the bottom 40% for making so little income in a single year. What is the reason for the low income (health, inequality, location, circumstances)? I find that the number has been inflated post covid, but there is not any evidence to back this up. However, my theory could be that the stimulus checks provided during Covid-19 were not beneficial, and greatly hindered the work ethic…
I always hear that the poor only stay poor because of the economy's system. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, otherwise known as the OECD, researched the economy and found that if the concentration of wealth, which is in fewer hands already, there will be an impact on the economy overall. This is because the wealthy is only of a smaller portion of the global population. As the rich gets richer and the poor stays the same, the income inequality gap continues to grow. This prohibits economic growth. It's unfortunate to also know that by earning even a dollar over a cap for benefits will cause someone to lose benefits. That extra dollar prohibits economic growth as well.
For this blog post, I was drawn to "Inequality Hurts America: Poor & Rich" as the topic of economic inequality is one that I believe plagues the United States. The given article talks about the issue of income inequality and how it can effect the overall economic growth of a country. Studies have found that the more unequal income is, there is less economic growth. Specifically, countries with a higher Gini constant (meaning worse income inequality) face worse economc growth. The article states that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development believe that income redistribution can help increase economic growth in countries where growth is hindering due to inequality. This can be understood through an example with the United States…
In his article, Erik Sherman discusses a 2014 OECD report that found a direct link between rising income inequality and slower economic growth. The report explains that when wealth is concentrated at the top, lower-income households are less able to invest in education and skills. Over time, this weakens the overall productivity and growth potential of the economy. The article also references economic models that show how income inequality, especially in places with imperfect financial markets, leads to underinvestment in human capital, which then slows long-term development.
What I found especially interesting is how the article moves beyond the usual moral arguments against wealth inequality and shows that it’s also economically harmful. I’ve always thought of huge wealth gaps as…
For my TeachEcoknowmics Blog Comment #1, I read Erik Sherman's article "Income Inequality Hurts Economic Growth." The article outlines the concentration of income held by fewer people. Growth occurs due to people spending money, which is difficult to achieve if only a tiny percentage of the U.S. population has the wealth to do so. The gap between the upper, middle, and lower classes has been higher in the last 30 years than ever before. The United States is only second to Mexico in that manner. On the other hand, countries such as Greece and Turkey are decreasing inequality. The wealthy cannot take on the burden of growth if the rest of the population cannot since they are such a small…
Surprisingly this article talks about income redistribution to combat income inequality in the United States. This can only be done in two ways, vertical redistribution or horizontal redistribution. It seems as if horizontal redistribution could be the best choice, as it can include the funding of public services. However, the problem also at hand involves the bottom 40% for making so little income in a single year. What is the reason for the low income (health, inequality, location, circumstances)? I find that the number has been inflated post covid, but there is not any evidence to back this up. However, my theory could be that the stimulus checks provided during Covid-19 were not beneficial, and greatly hindered the work ethic…
I always hear that the poor only stay poor because of the economy's system. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, otherwise known as the OECD, researched the economy and found that if the concentration of wealth, which is in fewer hands already, there will be an impact on the economy overall. This is because the wealthy is only of a smaller portion of the global population. As the rich gets richer and the poor stays the same, the income inequality gap continues to grow. This prohibits economic growth. It's unfortunate to also know that by earning even a dollar over a cap for benefits will cause someone to lose benefits. That extra dollar prohibits economic growth as well.
OECD…
For this blog post, I was drawn to "Inequality Hurts America: Poor & Rich" as the topic of economic inequality is one that I believe plagues the United States. The given article talks about the issue of income inequality and how it can effect the overall economic growth of a country. Studies have found that the more unequal income is, there is less economic growth. Specifically, countries with a higher Gini constant (meaning worse income inequality) face worse economc growth. The article states that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development believe that income redistribution can help increase economic growth in countries where growth is hindering due to inequality. This can be understood through an example with the United States…