This is interesting, Part 2: What do you think?

Question

"The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of a distribution of income." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient

"A Gini index of 0 represents perfect economic equality, and 100 perfect inequality."

List of countries by income equality:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality

Go to that link, but I looked up some countries of interest:
China - 44.7
Brazil- 54
Canada- 32.6
U.S.- 40.6
South Africa - 57.8
Russia- 39.9
Sweden - 25
Japan- 24.9
France- 32.7

Well, I expected Sweden to be low and Brazil + South Africa to be high. But I didn't expect to find that we have a lesser income inequality than China. Regardless of politial beliefs, if you are unfamiliar with this statistically accurate economic index, did you actually expect China to be rated as having more economic inequality?

In spirit of followup questions on this board!

Answer 1

Actually, it makes sense in China, given the huge population and the much smaller percentage of people who are actually making a lot of money. Even with all of the rich capitalists they have now, there's still over a billion people, the vast majority of whom are making very little.

Answer 2

I'd need to know more about the statistical methodology of the rating, but you'd expect a communist nation to have uniformly low income - though the top tier of the party might well have substantial material and social priveleges not reflected in income. China, though, has liberalized, and the minority of people who have been able to benefit from that partial adoptions of capitalism are probably what's throwing the statistic towards inequality.

I'm also wondering if 'perfect inequality' means what I think: all income is gained by a single person in the country, all others being income 0? I also have to wonder how strongly the super-rich impact it. I mean, if Bill Gates moved from the US to Canada, would that really shift both nations rating on this scale?

Answer 3

Very interesting question.
China is the country of contrasts. While the middle class is starting to emerge, we still have people that are very rich, and we have millions and millions and millions of poor people.
Personally i have always found the Gini index to be odd. It many cases it says the completely opposite thing form the one that i thought to me true...
Regarding Sweden, it is true that in the Scandinavian countries, the inequalities are less intense, but still there are many people are in difficult situations. But the country has a very organized and evolved social system so all those who do not have a job, get money from the government, thus you do not see often poor Swedish people. But this doesn't cover the fact that there are inequalities, they are just taken cared by the gov.

Answer 4

Naah, idk really, but I thought that Swedens would be higher. There has been so much about it in the newspapers so I just guessed... Good thing to live here then! =)