Inequality
A subject of perennial debate among economists is how much inequality is “normal” and which changes in economic policy are likely to decrease or increase it? Inequality is often measured by the Gini coefficient but other gauges include the share of income and wealth taken by the top 1% or 10% of the population. One hypothesis, the Kuznets curve, suggested that industrialisation initially increases inequality, then decreases it. This seemed plausible during the Great Compression from 1940 to 1980 but inequality in the developed world has increased since then. This Briefing explores a debate among economists about whether inequality is increasing and this Explainer examines the relationship between inequality and economic growth.