0.469 is the gini coefficient of the united states.
what is the gini coefficient of the united states?
0.469
the advent of deindustrialization in the late 1960s and early 1970s saw income inequality increase dramatically to levels never seen before. but at the same time, most orthodox economists, and most policy makers, pointed to the fact that consumers could buy so many goods, even with the inflation of the 1970s, as evidence that the general shift away from manufacturing and into services was creating widespread prosperity. in 1968, the u.s. gini coefficient was 0.386. in 2005, the american gini coefficient had reached 0.469.
economic history of the united states
the gini coefficient is a relative measure. its proper use and interpretation is controversial. it is possible for the gini coefficient of a developing country to rise (due to increasing inequality of income) while the number of people in absolute poverty decreases. this is because the gini coefficient measures relative, not absolute, wealth. changing income inequality, measured by gini coefficients, can be due to structural changes in a society such as growing population (baby booms, aging populations, increased divorce rates, extended family households splitting into nuclear families, emigration, immigration) and income mobility. gini coefficients are simple, and this simplicity can lead to oversights and can confuse the comparison of different populations; for example, while both bangladesh (per capita income of $1,693) and the netherlands (per capita income of $42,183) had an income gini coefficient of 0.31 in 2010, the quality of life, economic opportunity and absolute income in these countries are very different, i.e. countries may have identical gini coefficients, but differ greatly in wealth. basic necessities may be available to all in a developed economy, while in an undeveloped economy with the same gini coefficient, basic necessities may be unavailable to most or unequally available, due to lower absolute wealth.
gini coefficient