• What the difference is between relative and absolute measures of poverty.
• How to explain different methods of measuring income inequality.
• How income mobility differs from income equality.
• What public policies reduce poverty and inequality and what the trade‐off is between equity and efficiency.
• What relationship demographic differences in income or wages have with discrimination.
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11© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Chapter 21
Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination
2© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• What the difference is between relative and
absolute measures of poverty.
• How to explain different methods of measuring
income inequality.
• How income mobility differs from income
equality.
• What public policies reduce poverty and
inequality and what the trade‐off is between
equity and efficiency.
• What relationship demographic differences in
income or wages have with discrimination.
What will you learn in this chapter?
3© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Poverty is a lack of material resources.
– This is an important topic to economists as poverty
has real effects on individuals lives.
• Causes of poverty are not always obvious.
– Does a lack of education make people poor? Are
the poor less able or willing to access education?
– Is it hard to become rich if you start out poor, or
vice versa? If your parents were poor, how does
this affect your changes in life?
• Defining poverty is also difficult.
Poverty
24© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Measuring Poverty
• The absolute poverty
line in the U.S. is based
on the price of food for
different family sizes.
• The poverty lines are
determined annually by
the U.S. Census
Bureau.
Poverty line ($) Family size
11,702 1
15,603 2
18,106 3
22,811 4
26,844 5
30,056 6
33,665 7
There are two main ways to measure poverty:
• Absolute poverty line is a measure that defines poverty as income
below a certain amount, fixed at a given point in time.
• Relative poverty line is a measure that defines poverty in terms of
the income of the rest of the population.
5© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
The poverty rate defines the percentage of the population
that have incomes below the poverty line.
Measuring Poverty
Since the 1960s, the poverty line in the U.S. has decreased by
about 10 percent through economic growth and government
assistance.
30
25
20
15
10
5
2010
13%
20001990198019701960
50
40
45
35
Millions of people Recession
22%
14% 15% Poverty rate
46% People in poverty
16% Children in
poverty
6© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
The poverty rate differs by demographics.
Measuring Poverty
Number in poverty (millions)Demographic
Proportion of demographic
In poverty (%)
White 31.6 13.0
Black 10.6 27.4
Hispanic 13.2 26.6
Asian 1.7 12.1
Male 21.0 14.0
Female 25.2 16.2
Married 3.6 6.2
Single female 4.7 31.2
Single male 0.9 15.8
Under 18 16.4 22.2
18 -64 26.3 13.7
Over 65 3.5 9.0
• Married families have the lowest rate of poverty.
• Single mothers have the highest rate of poverty.
– Nearly one‐third of single mothers live in poverty.
37© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• The most common international poverty measure is the
number of people living on less than $1.25 per day.
• Must adjust for differences in prices across countries
using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index.
Measuring Poverty
People
living on
less than
$1.25 per
day, by
country
8© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Most individuals in poverty are only poor temporarily,
called transient poverty.
– This is compared to 3% of the poor who are in chronic
poverty—being poor for 3 or more years.
• Poverty‐alleviating policies require knowing who is poor
and why.
• Poverty may be inter‐generational: Those who grow up in
poor families are more likely to be poor themselves.
– Children in poor communities typically have reduced
opportunities to acquire human capital.
– Determining causality is difficult, as low human capital
causes poverty and poverty causes low human capital.
– Creates a negative cycle of poverty and low human capital.
Why are people poor?
9© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Poverty may be caused by poor social
networks.
• Poverty may also be caused by poverty traps.
These are self‐reinforcing mechanisms that
cause the poor to stay poor.
– Health and economic prosperity.
– Credit constraints.
– Community composition.
Why are people poor?
410© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
The simplest method to measure inequality is to
divide the population into five groups, called
quintiles, and determine their share of income.
Measuring inequality
Quintile Average pre-tax income ($) Share of pre-tax income (%)
Lowest 20 percent 18,400 3.3
Second 20 percent 42,500 8.4
Third 20 percent 64,500 13.1
Fourth 20 percent 94,100 19.3
Highest 20 percent 264,700 55.9
Top 1 percent 1,873,000 19.4
• In the U.S., the richest 20% hold over half of the income.
• The top 1% earns nearly a fifth of pre‐tax income.
11© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Inequality can also be measured using a Lorenz curve, a graphic
representation of income distribution that maps percentage of
the population against cumulative percentage of income
earned by those people.
Measuring inequality
Cumulative share of income
100%
0% 100%
0%
Cumulative share of people
Cumulative share of income
100%
0% 100%
0%
Cumulative share of people
Each person holds an
equal share of total
income.
If everyone earns the same income,
the Lorenz curve is straight and a
perfectly equal income distribution occurs.
Share of income
increases from
poor to rich.
If there are rich and poor, the Lorenz curve
bows in and an unequal income
distribution occurs.
12© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Draw the Lorenz curve for the following U.S.
income quintile data.
Active Learning: Measuring inequality
Quintile Share of pre-tax income (%)
3.3
8.4
13.1
19.3
55.9 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
20 40 60 80 100
Cu
m
ul
at
iv
e s
ha
re
of
in
co
m
e (
%
)
Cumulative share of people (%)
Lorenz Curve
Lowest 20 percent
Second 20 percent
Third 20 percent
Fourth 20 percent
Highest 20 percent
513© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Using the Lorenz curve, the Gini coefficient can be derived, which is a
single number measuring inequality and ranges from 0 to 1.
• Gini coefficient = Area A / Area A + B.
• Higher number is interpreted as greater inequality.
Measuring inequality
B
Cumulative share of income
0% 100%
0%
100%
Cumulative share of people
Gini coefficient =
A/(A + B)
• If everyone earned the same
income, the Gini coefficient
would be zero.
– Area A = 0.
• As income inequality grows,
Area A gets larger while Area
B shrinks.
– Gini coefficient increases.
A
14© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Use the Gini coefficient equation to fill in the
blanks in the table below.
Active Learning: Calculating the Gini
Coefficient
Situation Area A Area B Gini Coeff.
1 0 5000
2 1500 0.3
3 500 0.9
15© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Most countries have a Gini coefficient ranging
between 0.25 to 0.60.
Inequality in the U.S. and around the world
Gini coefficients around the world
• Inequality between countries has decreased.
• Inequality within countries has mostly increased.
616© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Income distributions can be compared across countries.
Inequality in the U.S. and around the world
% of total national income
BrazilUgandaSwedenUnited States
58.650.737.050.2Top quintile
19.020.022.723.4Fourth quintile
12.413.817.614.6Middle quintile
7.139.6414.08.5Second quintile
2.855.849.13.3Bottom quintile
Income distribution comparison
Public policy and economic growth can change a country’s income distribution.
• Income redistribution: Public services and income support to the poor.
• Skill‐biased technical change: The benefits of economic growth have
increasingly been going to the highly‐skilled workers, and low‐skilled
laborers lose out.
17© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Income inequality is often tied to equality of opportunity.
– If everyone has a fair chance to get ahead, then the income distribution
matters less.
• Income mobility is a way to consider the relationship between
inequality and opportunities, or the ability to improve one’s
economic circumstances over time.
Inequality versus mobility
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0 United
Kingdom
United
States
France Germany Sweden Canada Finland Norway Denmark
3.5
3.0
Low mobility
Medium mobility
Measure of
intergenerational mobility
High mobility
• A standard measure of
income mobility is to
compare peoples’ income
to their parents’ income.
• This figure compares the
income mobility of the
United States to other
wealthy countries.
• Canada is 2.5 times more
mobile than the United
States.
18© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Most governments enact policies aimed at
limiting poverty and inequality.
• There are three main types of public policy
approaches related to poverty and inequality
reduction.
1. Economic development: Investments that will
spur future economic growth.
2. Safety nets: Protection against the temporary
hard times that can lead to transient poverty.
3. Redistribution: Alleviating the effects of poverty
or income inequality.
Policies to reduce poverty and inequality
719© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
Classify the following public policies based on the
approach taken to alleviating poverty as economic
development, safety nets, or redistribution.
1. Transferring land to marginalized native Brazilians
owned by white Brazilians.
2. A program that gives short‐term income support to
war veterans who come home and are looking for
work.
3. A plan to revitalize the downtown area of Detroit, MI.
Active Learning: Policies to reduce poverty
and inequality
20© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Some people suggest that governments have the
responsibility to promote the economic well‐
being of their citizens.
– Sometimes referred to as the welfare state.
– Create a variety of programs to help guarantee a
minimum standard of living for all.
• There are some important U.S. welfare policies
that promote economic development, social
insurance, or redistribution goals.
1. Progressive taxation: Government charges lower tax
rates to those with lower income. Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) permits poor individuals to owe negative
taxes if they work a sufficient amount.
The welfare state
21© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
2. Conditional cash transfers: Programs that provide
income support only to recipients engaging in
certain actions.
3. In‐kind transfers: Programs that provide specific
goods or services directly to needy individuals or
households.
4. Social insurance: Programs that provide help for
people weathering temporary bad periods and
surviving old age, disability, or other long‐term
conditions.
The welfare state
822© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Welfare programs create inefficiency and distort
individuals’ choices.
• Pursuing greater income equity implies accepting
some inefficiency due to increased taxation to
finance public welfare programs.
• Welfare programs with a sharp cut‐off eligibility
can distort individuals’ behavior.
– Imagine a program that offers a $5,000 cash transfer
for those under the poverty line. Your income is $500
below the poverty line and you are offered
employment that increases your income by $3,000. Do
you accept the employment and lose the transfer?
Trade‐offs between equity and efficiency
23© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Means‐tested eligibility targets resources
based on a recipient’s income and attempts to
eliminate sharp eligibility cut‐offs.
• Some poverty policies can actually improve
both equity and efficiency.
– Improved access to credit markets typically
improves efficiency and equity.
• When designing public policies, policymakers
must understand the potential for trade‐offs
and unintended consequences.
Trade‐offs between equity and efficiency
24© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Historically, poverty and discrimination have often gone
hand‐in‐hand.
– Discrimination is the practice of making choices by using
generalizations based on people’s observable
characteristics like race, gender, and age.
• Making choices based on differences in the average
characteristics between two groups, statistical
discrimination, can sometimes be rational.
• Society loses when talented individuals who face
discrimination are discouraged from acquiring skills,
education, and positions they might otherwise get.
• Statistical discrimination can be rational for an
individual employer, but that doesn’t necessarily make
it right, socially efficient, or even legal.
Discrimination
925© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• It’s difficult to determine how big of an effect discrimination has on
people’s economic opportunities and success.
• Income by various demographic categories can reveal disparities.
Discrimination
Group Male ($) Female ($)
Asian 36,267 23,612
White 34,047 20,947
All 32,137 20,831
Black 23,203 19,700
Hispanic 22,233 16,269
Income by race and gender in the United States
• The challenge is distinguishing between what causes poverty and what is
correlated with poverty.
• It is possible that omitted variables are causing the correlation, such as
educational qualifications, work experience, or occupational choice (social).
– It may be that discrimination is the omitted variable factor. Then, income would
be an outcome of that discrimination.
26© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Under some conditions, markets may help to eliminate
discrimination.
– Sellers that discriminate decrease their pool of potential
buyers and may be pushed out of the market by sellers who
do not discriminate.
– If laws decree discrimination, then markets cannot function
properly to eliminate it.
• In response to the preferences of consumers,
discrimination is consistent with efficient markets.
– As long as sellers and buyers agree with and support the
discrimination.
– Sellers may lose customers if they go against the norm and
sell to those that are discriminated against.
– Doesn’t make it morally right or acceptable.
Discrimination
27© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Even though the passage of the Civil Rights Act
in 1964 made many forms of discrimination
illegal, it couldn’t undo the effects of
discrimination that took place in earlier
decades.
• Discrimination can have long‐lasting effects on
people and markets, even after the active
discrimination itself ends.
– Policies such as affirmative action attempt to
ensure that people of other races gain access to
college admissions or hiring decisions.
Discrimination
10
28© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Poverty is a lack of material resources.
• Causes of poverty are not always obvious.
• An absolute poverty line defines poverty as
income below a certain amount.
• A relative poverty line defines poverty in terms of
the income of the rest of the population.
• The most commonly used international poverty
measure is also an absolute poverty line, $1.25
per person per day at purchasing power parity.
• Income inequality is commonly summarized by
income brackets called quintiles.
Summary
29© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• The Lorenz curve maps the cumulative percent of
the population against the cumulative percent of
income those people earn.
• The Gini coefficient summarizes inequality in a
single number and is based on the Lorenz curve.
• Income mobility is the ability to improve one’s
economic circumstance over time.
• The three main methods of addressing poverty
are economic development, safety nets, and
wealth redistribution.
Summary
30© 2014 by McGraw‐Hill Education
• Four main policies are used to reduce poverty and
inequality: progressive taxation, income support,
in‐kind transfers, and social insurance.
• Means‐tested programs define eligibility for
benefits based on recipients’ income.
• Income for adults varies widely by race and
gender in the U.S.
• Determining whether discrimination occurred is
often difficult due to omitted variables.
• Under some conditions, markets may help to
eliminate discrimination.
Summary