is the u s gini coefficient high or low 
the united states has a gini coefficient estimated at 39 8 according to the world bank that is a high reading for a developed economy economists blame rising income inequality in the u s on factors such as technological change globalization the decline of unions and the eroding value of the minimum wage the bottom lineif the gap between rich and poor continues to increase the evaluation of the income gap can become more important and the gini index can provide a good starting point when it comes to measuring income inequality knowing the gini index numbers is no panacea but it can quantify and track the direction in which a society is moving which may open the door for dialogue and potential solutions but keep in mind that there are limitations associated with using this measure the coefficient is only as reliable as the data used to calculate it and a single number reading cannot tell the whole story 