Gale: Global Issues in Context, Wealth Divide 30 words

The Gini coefficient is a measure of income distribution or wealth distribution.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, new tax policies went into effect in some countries, such as the United States and Britain, in which the net effect has been lower taxes on the top 1 percent of wealth and income holders.

Wealth concentration in the twentieth century declined in many developed nations from the 1920s through the 1990s.

A 1994 economic initiative in Brazil, called Plano Real, sought to reduce inflation, work to reduce poverty, and to address the wealth divide.

The growth of the middle class, post-World War II (1939–45) government policies that helped foster a middle class, an increasing global consumer culture spurred on by manufacturing and globalization helped to redistribute wealth in many developed nations.

These programs, such as housing subsidies, education funding, healthcare funding, and/or mass transit support, help to create a broader middle class.

In northern Europe, Denmark's highest tax bracket tops out at a 68 percent tax rate; in Finland, civil fines such as speeding tickets are income-based, rather than flat, imposing a financial fine based on a percentage of income.

Black markets and unreported income can skew these figures, however; in former Soviet bloc countries, for instance, black market goods and the wealth generated from such sales cannot be accounted readily, and therefore determining accurate wealth distribution may be difficult.

The scale for the Gini coefficient is from zero to one; the lower the number, the more equal the income or wealth distribution; the higher the number edges toward one, the greater the inequality in distribution in a country.

Wealth concentration in the twentieth century declined in many developed nations from the 1920s through the 1990s.

In 1999 the real, the Brazilian currency, was devalued amid economic crisis, and unemployment increased, erasing a nearly ten-point decline in poverty.

In 1999 the real, the Brazilian currency, was devalued amid economic crisis, and unemployment increased, erasing a nearly ten-point decline in poverty.

In Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Russia such privatization of typical public spheres is more common among the highest wealth holders, creating less mixing of different economic classes and less economic diversity in schools, public spaces, and neighborhoods.

Although Hungary, for example, has a similar per capita income to Brazil's, its Gini coefficient stands at .243.

Resistance to governmental redistribution of wealth spanned all income groups fairly equally.

The decline of wealth concentration after the 1920s in much of North America and western Europe came about as a result of progressive taxation reform, which taxed the top 1 percent of income and wealth holders at rates as high as 90 percent.

Progressive income taxes lead to greater tax revenue, which supports broader social programs in governments that are inclined to develop and fund such programs.

In 1999 the real, the Brazilian currency, was devalued amid economic crisis, and unemployment increased, erasing a nearly ten-point decline in poverty.

On a political level, wealth concentration can lead to policy decisions that benefit the wealthy; in countries where private money can be donated to political campaigns, access to wealth may be synonymous with access to political power and policy influence.

In developing countries such as Brazil, with a Gini coefficient of .60, the wealth inequality contributes to severe, intergenerational poverty.

Some economists argue that the middle class created by such government economic policy then goes on to feed the consumer market; more families in the middle class mean more customers for products.

Wealth concentration in the twentieth century declined in many developed nations from the 1920s through the 1990s.

Although Hungary, for example, has a similar per capita income to Brazil's, its Gini coefficient stands at .243.