Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Despite increasing consensus that high inequality levels are harmful, what is conspicuously missing from the debate over effective measures to decrease income disparities is the formulation of concrete targets to meet. This papertherefore proposes the creation of an extreme inequality line as a maximum threshold. Such a general limit would help policy-makers measure progress towards more equality and increase accountability of their actions. At thesame time, it would signal to the general public that, rather than being a necessary evil, inequality is a moldable and ultimately reducible phenomenon. After explaining the conceptual need for an upper inequality limit, thepaper proceeds to discuss its concrete level. As a measuring indicator, it proposes the ratio of the income share of the top 5 per cent over that of the bottom 40 per cent, denominated Palma v.2, for its simplicity and intuitiveness.
Source: The New School Economic Review
Author: Alice Krozer
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2469544233