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Amanda Anna G

Changes in the US regional income distribution | FT Alphaville - 0 views

  • Changes in the US regional income distribution
  • Readers of our post on the unequal distribution of healthcare productivity across the US will notice that the states with the lowest median incomes are the ones that were originally settled by Cavaliers and Borderers, with the notable exceptions of Virginia and Maryland. Despite a general tendency towards rising inequality in the US income distribution, regional inequalities haven’t changed much since 1984,
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    This article deals with the income distribution in the US for some years back. There are charts showing the data for now and a few years back, explaining the change in the distribution of income in the different states in the US. 
Mariam P

Perceived Growing Income Distribution Inequality in Indonesia - 1 views

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    According to a survey conducted by Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) most Indonesians believe that Indonesian society is characterized by a high degree of income distribution inequality. More than 90 percent of respondents see income inequality in Indonesia, while about 40 percent of respondents believe there is no equality at all regarding income distribution in Indonesia.
Haydn W

Income distribution of New York City: What does it take to be rich? - 1 views

  • So You’re Rich for an American. Does That Make You Rich for New York?
  • New Yorkers have a notoriously skewed sense of wealth—at least when they work in industries like finance or media and live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. It’s hard not to, seeing how we’re surrounded by expensive restaurants, expensive apartments, and expensively dressed people who seem able to afford it all.
  • If I mention that a six-figure salary counts as rich in much of the country—that just $250,000 gets you into the top 2 percent—the response is usually, “Sure, but that’s not New York rich.”
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  • The greater New York metro area may be home to an enormous share of the country’s 1 percenters, and it's certainly a magnet for exorbitant, plutocratic wealth. But in the city itself, the basic income curve isn’t that exceptional. In the entire U.S., according to the Census, about 22 percent of households earn six figures. In NYC, it’s about 25 percent.
  • Real estate here is expensive, and we don’t get much square footage for our buck. But as I wrote yesterday, the high rents in this city are balanced out somewhat by the low, low cost of commuting on the subway. (Not paying for a car, or gas, or car insurance is pretty financially sweet.)
  • Combine that with the fact that salaries are somewhat higher than average here, and New York is reasonably affordable compared with other large cities.
  • The upshot: If you’re rich by U.S. standards, you’re probably also rich by New York standards. Now, if you do want to see a city where incomes are crazily out of line with the national norm, check out San Francisco, where 39 percent of households make six figures—it really is becoming a city for the rich.
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    This article from Slate tackles the issue of income distribution in one of the most notoriously expensively cities on Earth - New York. The article relates the economic principles learned this week to real life and the cost of living in a bustling city, with an interesting conclusion that might surprise some.
Yassine G

BBC News - Apple, Microsoft and Adobe summoned by Australia - 1 views

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    This article talks about price discrimination. In Australia, the government things that the prices are higher than anywhere else in the world ( prices charged by foreign companies). In my opinion, this is because these major companies had the ability to discriminate, due to income, which is found to be higher and the geographical destination. It is a third degree discrimination. All the required conditions for discrimination were available. The companies have ability to set prices, as they are in an oligopoly competition. The consumers in other parts in the world are not likely to by the product and sell it to Australians. And price elasticity in Australis is found to be higher due to the higher income they have, 
Amanda Anna G

Kansas's mid-term elections are a referendum on supply-side economics - The Washington ... - 1 views

  • Kansas’s mid-term elections are a referendum on supply-side economics
  • Brownback has signed major tax breaks into law, reduced state spending and arguably made it harder for people in poverty to receive welfare.
  • "I don't consider this an experiment," he told The Post recently. "This is a long-term strategy to make us more competitive."
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  • Voters are upset. Eliminating taxes doesn't guarantee victory at the polls -- not even in a red state like Kansas.
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    This article deals with Kansas economy. Gov. Sam Brownback has increased taxes for the lowest- income families while the high- income families have a reduction in their taxes. He believes that it is a long- term strategy to make Kansas more competitive. 
Zube Iheobi

Expanding Municipal ID Cards | Center for Popular Democracy - 0 views

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    i think this article proposes what will help lessen the effect of income inquality. closing the social gap between the rich and poor zubeee
Haydn W

South Africa at 20: Storms behind the rainbow - Opinion - Al Jazeera English - 1 views

  • April 27 marks the 20th anniversary of South Africa's first democratic elections.
  • Many things have improved in South Africa since 1994, to be sure. State racism has ended, and the country now boasts what some have described as the most progressive constitution in the world. People have rights, and they know that there are institutions designed to protect and uphold those rights. Still, everyday life for most South Africans remains a struggle - a struggle that is infinitely compounded by the sense of disappointment that accompanies it, given the gap between the expectations of liberation and the state of abjection that the majority continues to inhabit.
  • South Africa's unemployment rate in 1994 was 13 percent - so bad that most were convinced it could only get better. Yet today it is double that, at about 25 percent.
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  • And that's according to official statistics; a more reasonable figure, according to most analysts, is probably closer to 37 percent. The situation is particularly bad for young people. The Economist recently reported that "half of South Africans under 24 looking for work have none. Of those who have jobs, a third earn less than $2 a day."
  • South Africa also boasts a reputation for being one of the most unequal countries in the world. Not only has aggregate income inequality worsened since the end of apartheid, income inequality between racial groups has worsened as well.
  • According to the 2011 census, black households earn only 16 percent of that which white households earn. About 62 percent of all black people live below the poverty line, while in the rural areas of the former homelands this figure rises to a shocking 79 percent.
  • The ANC's Black Economic Empowerment programme has succeeded in minting new black millionaires (South Africa has 7,800 of them now), but can't seem to manage the much more basic goal of eliminating poverty.
  • during the negotiated transition of the 1980s and early 1990s. The apartheid National Party was determined that the transition would not undermine key corporate interests in South Africa, specifically finance and mining. They were willing to bargain away political power so long as they could retain control over the economy. And so they did.
  • The ANC was forced to retreat from its position on nationalisation and an IMF deal signed just before the transition deregulated the financial sector and clamped down on wage increases.
  • Still, when the ANC assumed power in 1994 it implemented a progressive policy initiative known as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The RDP was designed to promote equitable development and poverty reduction
  • Despite its successes, this policy framework was abandoned a mere two years later. Mbeki and then Finance Minister Trevor Manuel held clandestine discussions with World Bank advisors toward drafting a new economic policy known as GEAR (Growth, Employment, and Redistribution, even though it accomplished precious little of the latter).
  • Given these contradictions, it's no wonder that South Africa is ablaze with discontent, earning it the title of "protest capital of the world".
  • Early this year some 3,000 protests occurred over a 90-day period, involving more than a million people. South Africans are taking to the streets, as they give up on electoral politics. This is particularly true for the young: Nearly 75 percent of voters aged 20-29 did not participate in the 2011 local elections.
  • The government's response has been a mix of police repression - including the recent massacre of 44 striking miners at Marikana - and the continued rollout of welfare grants, which now provide a vital lifeline to some 15 million people.
  • So far the protests have been focused on issues like access to housing, water, electricity, and other basic services, but it won't be long before they coalesce into something much more powerful
  • as they did during the last decade of apartheid. There are already signs that this is beginning to happen. The Economic Freedom Fighters, recently founded by Julius Malema, the unsavory former leader of the ANC Youth League, is successfully mobilising discontented youth and making a strong push to nationalise the mines and the banks.
  • It seems that the ANC's legitimacy is beginning to unravel and consent among the governed has begun to thin. It is still too early to tell, but the death of Mandela may further widen this crack in the edifice of the ruling regime, as the ANC scrambles to shore up its symbolic connection to the liberation struggle.
  • In short, the situation in South Africa over the past 20 years opens up interesting questions about the meaning of democracy. What is democracy if it doesn't allow people to determine their own economic destiny or benefit from the vast wealth of the commons? What is freedom if it serves only the capital interests of the country's elite? The revolution that brought us the end of apartheid has accomplished a great deal, to be sure, but it has not yet reached its goal. Liberation is not yet at hand.
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    From Al Jazeera I chose this article about the poor state of the economy in South Africa, 20 years after Nelson Mandela and the ANC came to power, ending the system of political, social and economic segregation, Apartheid. Despite reforms in the 90's the majority of wealth and power is still held by rich whites. With around 30% unemployment rate and young people struggling to find work many feel only anger and resentment to the current ANC government led by Jacob Zuma. Economically speaking South Africa's imports are up and exports down, reducing GDP as AS is shifted left. This is especially evident in industries like mining and banking which many are now calling for to be nationalised. 20 years on from Nelson Mandela's historic victory in the 1994 general election, South Africa, despite being free of the shackles of segregation is not in the boom many predict. The ANC must be careful in there actions, should they, following the death of Madiba lose contact with his legacy and what he stood for.
Marenne M

Dutch Economy Emerging From Two-Year Recession - WSJ.com - 1 views

  • he Dutch economy is emerging from a two-year long recession
  • The country's gross domestic product will expand by 0.75% in 2014, slightly higher than a previous forecast of 0.5% growth
  • The economy will grow by 1.25% in 2015, it added
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  • CPB said the government's budget shortfall will narrow to 2.9% of GDP in 2014 and 2.1% in 2015
  • it was hit by the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone and deep problems at home
  • A slump in the housing market has hit highly indebted households
  • he recovery will largely be driven by a pickup in exports as a result of the improving global and European economy
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    This article discusses how the Netherlands are finally picking up after a 2 year long recession. One of the main problems during the recession was that the Dutch citizens became afraid to spend money because they were unsure of their financial state in the near future. This caused a sort of glitch in the macroeconomic cycle of Holland, because people stopped spending and the companies stopped making as much income, therefore people got fired, and the cycle continues on. The economy in Holland is finally picking up and the GDP is said to rise by 0.75% this year.
Marenne M

There Is No Evidence Inflation Is Hitting the Poor Hardest - 1 views

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    This article describes how the CPI works and how inflation affects different groups of people with different incomes differently. Ben Casselman claims that inflation is higher for the poor households, by looking at the poor separately instead of as an average with the rest of the CPI. This way he says that he can show that the poor spend differently than the rich and that therefore the inflation is higher for them. This is not evidence, however, because inflation is about the rising of prices, and the prices rise equally no matter whether you are rich or poor. The only difference is the impact it has on the different groups.
Aleksi B

Toyota posts 23% jump in net income, helped by weak yen, cost cuts - 2 views

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    This article shows that taking advantage of different currencies Toyota managed to increase their net profit
Marenne M

Nigeria devalues currency as oil prices drop - FT.com - 5 views

  • Nigeria has devalued its currency by nearly 10 per cent and raised interest rates to record levels, in one of the clearest signs yet of how oil producing nations are struggling as energy prices drop sharply.
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    This article describes the devaluation of the fixed currency rate of Nigeria as a result of the decreased energy prices. Nigeria is an oil producing country and therefore earns a lot of its income through oil exports. Now that the prices of other energy has dropped, there is a lower demand for the Nigerian oil, leading to fewer exports. The Nigerian central bank has now devaluated its currency by 8.4 percent in the hope that the lower prices will encourage a greater demand for their oil exports.
Pip Dop

Exposed: The Africans named in the HSBC Swiss Leaks - 0 views

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    This is an interesting article that exposes some African clients involved in the HSBC Swiss leaks. It is a striking real life example of how inequal distribution of income is still an issue; Eritrea, ranked 182nd out of 187 in the HDI report has the client banking the most substantial sum of all Africans considered.
Zuzanna G

Egypt's cigarette monopoly profits drop 9% y-o-y in first half of 2013/14 - 1 views

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    This article gives an example of the state as a monopolist and its incomes.
Jakub B

Food Scarcity May Leave World Hungry Despite Growth - 0 views

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    The article focuses on 'bigger problem' than economical growth in the US. It mentions rapid increase in prices of food (e.g. corn). The writer also compares the growth of median income with the upsurge of essential nutrients.
Zuzanna G

Coffee Demand Shifts Down-Market - 1 views

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    This article shows how total income and trends affect demand using an interesting example of coffee.
Haydn W

Scrap the licence fee and privatise the BBC - The Commentator - 0 views

  • The next two years will see a lively debate over the future of the British Broadcasting Corporation, with the current Royal Charter due to run out at the end of 2016.
  • According to an ICM poll in the Sunday Telegraph last month, 70 per cent of voters believe that the licence fee should be abolished or cut.
  • With the licence fee scrapped, should the BBC remain in public ownership? Or should the BBC be privatised, so that it can compete on a level playing field with the global media giants that are now emerging? 
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  • Paul Samuelson, the Nobel-prize-winning American economist, advanced the concept of "public goods" in his classic 1954 paper "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure", demonstrating that such goods had to be financed by taxation and could not be left to the free market. The hostility to advertising meant that broadcasting was the textbook paradigm of a "public good".
  • Still benefiting from the halo conferred by its wartime role, the BBC was by far the most influential broadcasting service in the world. Further, with the UK accounting for almost 10 per cent of world output in the late 1940s, its state-owned monopoly was a vast broadcasting business by international standards. The BBC may not have been part of the British constitution, but it was undoubtedly a "national champion".
  • Advertising is sometimes demonised by left-wing commentators as capitalism without taste or shame, and as free enterprise at its selfish worst.
  • The actual position is far more even-handed and complex. As the growing unpopularity of the licence fee has constrained the BBC's revenues, TV advertising spend is now about the same size as the total money collected by the licence fee and well above the portion of this money devoted to television.
  • But the truly spectacular development of the last few years is that both total advertising spend and the licence fee money have been surpassed by BSkyB's subscription revenue. As BSkyB also picks up advertising revenue on its channels, its annual income is well above the BBC's.
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    This article talks about the logistics of scraping the license fee that finances one of the worlds most famous examples of a public good, the BBC. Economic stagnation and falling wages have left many consumers disgruntled at the license fee and with the BBC failing to keep up with it's competitors in terms of revenue, costs have had to be cut at the world renowned corporation. The article explores the concept of the public good and how politicians have began to propose alternatives to the license fee.
Haydn W

Taxing Carbon Is Like Taxing Diamonds | Mary Manning Cleveland - 0 views

  • Taxing Carbon Is Like Taxing Diamonds
  • To reduce carbon emissions, we must tax fossil fuels -- but, say the pundits, we can't do so because the tax would be regressive, clobbering the poor.
  • Imagine that we impose a sales tax on diamonds. Would we worry about the burden on middle-class purchasers of one-fourth-caret engagement rings? What about the part of the tax "passed back" onto the DeBeers Group? Not much sympathy for global monopolists either.
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  • Surprisingly, a carbon tax would operate much like a diamond tax, for reasons both of demand and supply.
  • Demand: The wealthy actually consume a disproportionate amount of carbon. Discussions of a carbon tax usually focus on the price of gasoline. One gallon of gas produces about 17 pounds of CO2. One metric ton is 2,204 pounds. So a $100 tax on a ton of CO2 comes to $0.77 per gallon -- a significant cost to low-income commuters and small truckers.
  • A May 2013 federal study of the Social Cost of Carbon estimated costs of additional CO2 emissions for 2010 to 2050 ranging from $27 to $221 per metric ton in 2050, depending on assumptions.
  • Demand elasticity for oil is low, about 0.5; so a 1 percent increase in oil price would cause a 0.5 percent decrease in consumption. That makes sense, since in the short run, it's hard for people to cut energy consumption, especially if they must drive to work. But, though numbers are hard to come by, elasticity of supply is much, much lower, for two reasons. First, oil production takes decades and billions in capital investment; producers cannot quickly increase or decrease supply. Second, oil producers form an international cartel, an organized mega-monopoly, which holds down production to drive up prices. Since they're already charging what the traffic will bear, they can't much raise prices to cover a tax.
  • As economists long ago figured out, buyers and sellers share a tax in inverse proportion to elasticity. Therefore, if supply elasticity of carbon is, say, 0.1, while demand elasticity is 0.5, the suppliers will pay five times as much of the tax as consumers. That reduces that $0.77 per gallon gas tax to only $0.13. Moreover, precisely because most of the tax falls on suppliers, it will generate plenty of revenue to help those unfortunate long-distance commuters and small truckers, to build more public transportation, to invest in renewable energy, and even to cut super-regressive taxes like the payroll tax.
  • According to Edward Wolff, in 2007, the top 1 percent in the U.S. owned 43 percent of non-home wealth, mostly securities, including of course energy company stocks and bonds. The top 10 percent of wealth holders owned 83 percent.
  • But the very poor don't drive or travel or occupy much space; the rich fly planes, including private jets; drive to low-density suburbs; occupy and heat multiple houses and hotels; and buy lots of stuff. Clearly the rich consume much more carbon per capita than the poor.
  • So we have good news and bad news. Good news: The cost of reducing carbon emissions will fall hardest on the 1 percent, who consume the most energy and own the energy companies. Bad news: Ditto. Expect a fight!
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    This article talks about the economic implications of imposing a tax on carbon emissions and how this would affect the different social classes of society in different ways. The article makes specific reference to economic theory and the elements on elasticity.
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    Taxation almost always decrease the economic surplus and therefore it makes a decline in effectiveness. In this case, the energy companies will be the most affected group.
John B

Long-term unemployment: What the U.S. can learn from Sweden - The Term Sheet: Fortune's... - 1 views

  • less than 10% of Americans who were unemployed had been so for more than 27 weeks. Now, 35.8% of unemployed Americans fit into this category.
  • Long-term unemployment is a particularly pernicious problem because of its compounding nature -- long stretches of unemployment erode workers' skills, while employers have an irrational bias against the long-term unemployed.
  • Take Sweden
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  • these workers find it harder and harder to find a job.
  • One 2007 study showed that out of six different Swedish programs, whose purposes ranged from worker retraining, helping workers maintain contact with former colleagues, temporary government employment, and employment subsidies, only the latter was effective at bringing down long-term unemployment.
  • A wage subsidy is a program where the government pays part of a worker's check, thus raising the worker's income and inducing firms to hire more workers.
  • Wage subsidies aren't just a potential solution to the debate over the minimum wage. They could also help bring down U.S long-term unemployment as well.
  • Wage subsidies haven't taken off in the U.S., primarily for political reasons.
  • The experience in Sweden shows that this policy can help the long-term unemployed find gainful employment.
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    This article deals with the long-term unemployment issue in the US that have been rising a lot since 2002. One solution to this is to follow one of the Swedish programs, wage subsidies. This have given great results and might be a good solution to the problem in the US as well.
Clemente F

Japan's Current Account Falls into Deficit - 0 views

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    This article talks about Japan's current account balance that fell in to deficit for the first time because robust income from overseas investments wasn't enough to make up for ongoing trade deficits.
Daniel Soto Aggard

Five banks fined €2.5 BILLION over rigging foreign exchange rates - 0 views

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    This article concerns the banks in the area of the UK. Banks such as: citibank, HSBC, UBS, and Royal Bank of Scotland. These banks have been fined at total of 2.5 billion pounds for rigging exchange rates. In order to receive more income.
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