The Distribution of Income and Wealth, and the Factors That Lie Behind Them

Micro – Poverty and Inequality

In this course, Dr Paul Segal (King's College London) discusses poverty and inequality. In the first module, we will focus on the distribution of income and wealth, and the factors that lie behind them. After this, we will take a closer look at the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. Then we look at the problem with inequality, particularly looking at the difference between equality and equity in relation to the distribution of income and wealth and the likely benefits and costs of more equal and more unequal distributions. In the fourth module, we will explore the difference between relative and absolute poverty. Then, we will look at the causes and effects of poverty. In the final module, we look at government policies to alleviate poverty and to influence the distribution of income and wealth, and the economic consequences of such policies.

The Distribution of Income and Wealth, and the Factors That Lie Behind Them

In this module, we will focus on the distribution of income and wealth, and the factors that lie behind them. In particular, we will focus on: (i) defining what income and wealth are, including how economists use the idea of flows and stocks to model them; (ii) defining the distribution of income and wealth, including a simple example of how we can explain the distribution of income and wealth; (iii) the difference between wages and profits; and (iv) how we explain the distribution of income and wealth in terms of the returns to the factors of production.