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key questions - Coggle Diagram
key questions
how does it affect society?
people at the lower ends of the ladder experience diminished economic opportunity and mobility
(the Great Gatsby curve)
geographic segregation
by income
more measures have to be rolled out
to compensate for income inequality =
less budget used for improvements
less economic
growth overall
transfer of wealth from lower-
to higher-income households =
decrease in consumption spending
undermining education opportunities
for children from poorer families,
lowering social mobility + hampering
skill development = less productive =
less overall participation in society
increased (VIOLENT!)
crime rates
socio-cultural and
economic divides
more political influence;
hinders democracy
what is income inequality?
green branch in
readings
often accompanied by wealth inequality
(assets eg houses)
in America, three men hold as much as
the bottom half of Americans
often measured by comparing the top 1% or
10% to the median or the bottom 10%
rich get richer,
poor get poorer
measured by the Gini coefficient
solutions implemented
extension in eligibility
for WIS (workfare income
support) scheme >35 to >30
expand PWM to
more sectors
PW Mark (in
readings)
education
why does income inequality exist?
technological change
labour demand shifted
from low-skilled to high-
skilled labour
globalisation
puts a premium on higher skills
eroding value of minimum wage
immigration
increases the supply of (usually)
low-skill labour = less demand =
lower wages
is income inequality relevant
in Singapore today?
yes! especially with the COVID-19
pandemic, workers from lower-skill sectors (f&b, retail, service) have been severely impacted
most likely to get retrenched
SG has a small labour
and market size
lowers economic growth through under-realisation of scarce talent, and weaker consumption demand
mature, high-income, slow-growing economy = rapid growth cannot mask economic effects and social challenges of inequality
how effective are
the solutions?
effective, but come
at a cost
consumers have to bear
a brunt of the expenses =
rise in cost of living
education leads to
bigger gap between
¨college premiums¨