◆ GLOBAL & APPLIED
Income & Inequality
Income distribution, the Gini coefficient, poverty, and redistribution policy.
14 articles
FeaturedPoverty Line: Defining the Threshold Between Poor and Not Poor
The poverty line is the income threshold below which a household is classified as poor. The U.S.
Read more →Deep Dives
5 articles
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
How Income Is Distributed in the United States
The top fifth of U.S. households takes about half of all income; the bottom fifth gets roughly 3%. What Census data shows, and what it leaves out.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
The Gini Coefficient and the Lorenz Curve: Measuring Inequality in a Single Number
The Gini coefficient compresses a whole income distribution into one number between 0 and 1. Here's what it measures, how to compute it, and where it misleads.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
What Drives Income Inequality? The Economics Behind the Gap
The top 1% earned 12.4% of all U.S. wages in 2023, up from 7.3% in 1979. Here are the five forces actually driving the gap — led by the data.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
How Poverty Is Measured — and Why the Method Matters
The U.S. official poverty line was built from a 1963 food-budget formula. Here are the real questions people ask about how poverty is defined, measured, and…
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
Should the Government Redistribute Income? The Economics of Taxes, Transfers, and Trade-Offs
The case for redistribution is real — so are the costs. Here is what the economics actually says about progressive taxes, transfers, the EITC, and the…