Income inequality

Income inequality is the uneven distribution of income among individuals or groups within a population. It can be measured across households, people, or income sources.

Gini coefficient: A statistical measure of inequality based on the distance between an observed distribution and perfect equality. It summarizes the income distribution in a single number, though it can hide where changes occur.
Income: Money and other resources received by a person or household over a period of time. The definition of income determines what enters an inequality calculation.
Global inequality: Differences in income or wealth among people worldwide, regardless of national borders. It compares the worldwide distribution rather than inequality within a single country.
Economic mobility: The ability of individuals or families to change their economic position over time or across generations. High inequality can coexist with very different chances of moving between income ranks.
Skill-biased technological change: Technological change that raises demand for skilled labor relative to less-skilled labor. It is one explanation for widening wage gaps in economies adopting new technologies.
Lorenz curve: A graph comparing the cumulative share of a population with its cumulative share of a resource. It shows which parts of the population account for which shares of income.
Wealth inequality: The uneven distribution of assets and debts across people or households. Wealth is a stock of assets, unlike income, which is measured over a period.
United States income inequality: The distribution of income among people or households in the United States. Its rising top income shares have made it a prominent national case.
Poverty: A condition in which people lack resources needed to meet basic needs or a socially defined minimum standard. Income inequality concerns relative distribution, while poverty tracks resources below a threshold.
Minimum wage: The lowest hourly or periodic wage that employers are legally permitted to pay. It can raise earnings near the bottom, with effects depending on labor-market conditions.

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