Focus on Income Inequality

This Page One Economics essay discusses how income and wealth inequality are measured, what drives differences among individuals and households, and how growing inequality may affect the overall economy. The essay includes multiple-choice questions suitable for both in-class and out-of-class assignments.

From the FRED Blog

The post “Measuring income inequality as a ratio” compares the average income of the highest earners to the average income of the lowest earners for each U.S. county over the 2014 to 2019 period.

Quiz Yourself on Income and Wealth Inequality

The FRED map above shows the Gini Index, a measure of income inequality, by nation in 2018.

Q1. In what country was income inequality the highest?

Q2. Name a country with a Gini Index almost identical to that of the United States.

The FRED graph above shows the shares of net worth held by different groups of United States households sorted by their wealth.

Q1. In 2021, which wealth percentiles held the largest share of total net worth in the U.S.?

Q2. In 2021, what share of total net worth did the poorest 50% of U.S. households hold?

You can share these graphs with your students using this dashboard. To customize this dashboard, just click the “Save to My Account” button at the top of the dashboard.