Income Inequality and Poverty
PROBLEMS AND APPLICATIONS 1. Table 2 shows that income inequality in the United States has increased since 1970, Some factors contributing to this increase were discussed in Chapter 19. What are they? 2. Table 4 shows that the percentage of children in families with...
Income Inequality and Poverty
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 1. Does the richest fifth of the U.S. population earn two, four, or ten times the income of the poorest fifth? 2. How does the extent of income inequality in the United States compare to that of other nations around the world? 3. What groups in...
Income Inequality and Poverty
CONCLUSION People have long reflected on the distribution of income in society. Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher concluded that in an ideal society the income of the richest person would be no more than four times the income of the poorest person. Although the...
Income Inequality and Poverty
Child Labor What is the best way to reduce the use of child labor around the world? Research changes Ideas about Children and Work When Americans think about child labor in poor countries, they rarely picture girls fetching water or boys ten din livestock. Yet most of...
Income Inequality and Poverty
ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS AND WORK INCENTIVES Many policies aimed at helping the poor can have the unintended effect of discouraging the poor from escaping poverty on their own. To see why, consider the following example. Suppose that a family needs an income of $15,000 to...
Income Inequality and Poverty
IN-KIND TRANSFERS Another way to help the poor is to provide them directly with some of the goods and they need to raise their living standards. For example, charities provide the needy with food, shelter, and toys at Christmas. The government gives poor families...
