Retrieved from Volume 27, No. 2, 2023
Pages 41 -50
Received 06.12.2022
Revised 17.02.2023
Accepted 25.04.2023
Retrieved from Volume 27, No. 2, 2023
Pages 41 -50
Abstract
In global practice, there is a tendency towards uneven distribution of income, and therefore research on many aspects of this topic should be expanded. This study raises the pressing issues of uneven distribution of incomes, which, in turn, creates poverty and social tension among different segments of the population. The purpose of this scientific work is to consider the main reasons for the uneven distribution of income at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, which is expressed in the reduction of tax progressivity, the weakening of trade unions, the reduction of competition and monopolisation, globalisation, tax evasion, an ineffective education system, and weak corporate governance laws which allow company management to set unlimited high salaries and much more. To achieve the purpose, the following research methods were used: statistical and economic, abstract and logical, comparative analysis, typological approach, and generalisation. As a result, methods of solving the above-mentioned problems were proposed, including progressive taxation, creation of equal opportunities for obtaining higher education and high-paying work, consideration of state investments in the social sector, creation of means of social mobility, etc. The consequences that uneven income distribution can lead to include political instability, reduced social mobility, crime, low life expectancy, financial instability, economic crisis, etc. This article also includes analytical study of indicators of income distribution equality using the Gini coefficient in different countries. The study represents value for the scientific community and researchers of the issue of income distribution in the conditions of a socially oriented economy
Keywords:
unemployment; state regulation; employment; wages; Gini coefficient; standard of living[1] Alford, R.D., & Reilly, R. (2019). Income inequality. An alarming U.S. trend. New York: Greenhaven Press.
[2] Alvaredo, F., Piketty, T., Chancel, L., Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2018). World inequality report. London: World Inequality Lab.
[3] Biewen, M., & Flachaire, E. (2018). Econometrics and income inequality. Econometrics, 6(4), 42. doi: 10.3390/econometrics6040042.
[4] Coffey, C., Revollo, P.E., Harvey, R., Lawson, M., Butt, A.P., Piaget, K., Sarosi, D., & Thekkudan, J. (2020). Time to care: Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis. Oxford: Oxfam.
[5] Dolan, K.A., & Peterson-Withorn, C. (2022). The world's billionaires list. The richest in 2022. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/billionaires-2022/.
[6] Drennan, M.P. (2019). Income inequality: Why it matters and why most economists didn’t notice? New York: Greenhaven Press.
[7] Gornick, J.C., & Jäntti, M. (2013). Income inequality: Economic disparities and the middle class in affluent countries. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
[8] Gramm, P., Ekelund, R., & Early, J. (2022). The myth of American inequality: How government biases policy debate. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
[9] Green, D.A., Riddell, W.C., & St-Hilaire, F. (2019). Income inequality. The Canadian story. New York: Greenhaven Press.
[10] Hasell, J. (2018). Is income inequality rising around the world? Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/income-inequality-since-1990.
[11] ITU. (2017). ICT facts and figures. Geneva: ITU.
[12] Jones, S.M., & Rycroft, R.S. (2023). Income inequality in America: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
[13] Keeley, B. (2019). Income inequality. The gap between rich and poor. Chicago: Greenhouse Publishing.
[14] Lawson, M. (2018). How to reduce inequality. SDG Action. Retrieved from https://sdg-action.org/how-to-reduce-inequality/.
[15] Mehta, K., Shubert, E., & Siu, E.D. (2020). Tax justice and global inequality: Practical solutions to protect developing country revenues. London: Adfo Books.
[16] OECD. (2015). Income inequality. Retrieved from https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm.
[17] Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Roser, M. (2018). Economic inequality by gender. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/economic-inequality-by-gender#in-most-countries-the-gender-pay-gap-has-decreased-in-the-last-couple-of-decades.
[18] Piketty, T. (2019). Capital and ideology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
[19] Piketty, T. (2022). A brief history of equality. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
[20] Postma, J. (2016). Income inequality. Let’s fix this. New York: Greenhaven Press.
[21] Purdie, E. (2019). Tracking GDP in PPP terms shows rapid rise of China and India. Retrieved from https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/tracking-gdp-ppp-terms-shows-rapid-rise-china-and-india.
[22] Serra, M. (2022). Discours de réception à l’Académie française et réponse de Xavier Darcos. Paris: Grasset.
[23] Sinquefield, C.J., & Trump, H.J. (2022). Taxes have consequences: An income tax history of the United States. New York: Post Hill Press.
[24] The World Bank. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview.
[25] These countries have the most income equality. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/income-equality.
[26] Tsalis, T.A., Malamateniou, K.E., Koulouriotis, D., & Nikolaou, I.E. (2020). New challenges for corporate sustainability reporting: United Nations' 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the sustainable development goals. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(4), 1617-1629. doi: 10.1002/csr.1910.
[27] United Nations. (2019a). 2019 global multidimensional poverty index (MPI). New York: UNDP.
[28] United Nations. (2019b). Sustainable development outlook 2019: Gathering storms and silver linings. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/sustainable-development-outlook-2019-gathering-storms-and-silver-linings/.
[29] United Nations. (2020). UNDESA world social report 2020. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/world-social-report/2020-2.html.
[30] United Nations. (2022). The sustainable development goals report. Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2022.pdf.
[31] Van Ham, M., Tammaru, T., Ubarevičienė, R., & Janssen, H. (2021). Urban socio-economic segregation and income inequality: A global perspective. Cham: Springer Nature.
[32] World Inequality Lab. (2018). World inequality report 2018. Retrieved from https://wir2018.wid.world/executive-summary.html.