As the global economy continues to expand, the wealth gap remains one of the most pressing issues, particularly in emerging markets like China and India. While businesses are often seen as engines of economic growth, the question arises: are they doing enough to close the widening wealth gap, or are they exacerbating it? While both
Nearly half of the world’s population, including one billion children, lives in poverty (defined as income of less than $2 U.S. per day). With an eye toward better understanding how the private sector can help reduce poverty, four students at Vanderbilt University Peabody College of education and human development collaborated with the Center
The crucial significance of gender balance in the news media is very important. Women are under-represented in the news media all across the world. Women are oftentimes prevented from expanding their professional networks and overall career paths due to social and cultural restrictions. For instance, women don’t have the same access to mentors as men
For the last two years, the debate on the economy has centered around inflation.
After reaching a 40-year high last summer, inflation as measured by economists is now approaching normal levels. But despite the rapid slowdown, millions still feel squeezed by a decades-long affordability crisis.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans struggled to afford sky-high prices
The U.S. Census Bureau announced last month that real median household income in 2022 fell in comparison to 2021. The official poverty rate of 11.5% was not statistically different between 2021 and 2022. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate in 2022 was 12.4%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from 2021. This is the first
Irit Tamir, Director of Oxfam America’s Private Sector Department, has written an excellent article explaining the context for the recent and dramatic uptick in number of workers going on strike in the U.S. In it she writes:
“Why are members of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) taking to the street as the latest workers to go
As has been explored in earlier articles on this blog, there are numerous obstacles – political, social, and structural – that prevent the integration of women into the Indian economy on equitable terms and footing with their male counterparts. These issues are deeply rooted in the Indian economy and society more broadly, and addressing them
India is a country where gender inequality has been a crucial issue for generations. Starting at a very young age, girls face a variety of barriers that contribute to unequal economic and educational opportunities. The empowerment of women, both through education of girls and employment of women, has a direct impact on the Indian economy.
When the Occupy Wall Street movement dissipated, their call against the 1 percent slowly disappeared from the news headlines only to be replaced by research that made similar points about inequality. Much of what has been said refers to Thomas Piketty’s work. Some of the suggestions made to address the differences between the rich and
Inequality is a phenomenon that humans have dealt with for millennia. No society has been able eliminate inequality and it’s unlikely to ever disappear completely. In the US, inequality has become an increasingly popular topic in the media as different groups advocate for higher wages or additional benefits. A recent poll conducted by The New
Since its founding, the United States has been seen as the land of potential greater economic equality. The American Dream promotes the idea that any person, regardless of race, class, or any other social barrier, can find success. In the U.S., the assumptions have been that: one, there is equal opportunity and two, as long
Inequality is a topic of obvious concern worldwide. Nevertheless, problems arise when we measure inequality without a standard definition. Not having a unique and unambiguous definition has the consequence that different measures can lead to different conclusions.
Inequality is largely assessed by measuring three different variables: income, consumption and wealth. The most popular and publicized of
From the French Revolution to the rise of the Communist Party in China, inequality has been the primary motivating factor of the great evolutions of society. Many commentators seem to have hit the nail on the head with their observations that human history could best be described as a progression of times when groups which
We need to understand the ways that economic stratification in our society works and we need to blur the lines that separate us. This will require effort and a challenge of cultural norms. But we all can participate in this effort, regardless of our economic standing.
A family once invited a friend of mine over to
Every December, for the past 170 years, Ebenezer Scrooge has been haunted and redeemed. In print, on stage or on film, his story, through years of adaptations, has become part of our folklore. The dreadful, heart-of-stone miser who sees the error of his ways in time to become a truly good man: a staunch friend,
