6 Resources and the Distribution of Inequality Free Online FlashCards

How do income and wealth differ?

Income is money received over a period; wealth is the value of assets minus debts at a point in time.

Name three non-monetary resources that can shape opportunity.

Education, occupation, social connections, health, housing, and time can all shape access to opportunities.

How can a very high value affect the mean differently from the median?

The median is the midpoint of a distribution; the mean is its arithmetic average and can be pulled upward by very high values.

How can families transmit advantages across generations?

Families may transfer wealth through inheritances, gifts, housing support, or help paying for education, and pass on knowledge, expectations, and social networks.

What can vary across jobs and within the same occupation?

Occupations differ in pay, stability, authority, benefits, and prestige; wages can also vary within one occupation by experience, location, and industry.

How do class and status differ?

Class describes a person’s position in economic relations, often indicated by income, wealth, and work. Status refers to social honor or prestige.

How do intragenerational and intergenerational mobility differ?

Intragenerational mobility is movement within a person’s lifetime; intergenerational mobility compares a person’s position with their parents’.

How can wealth, education, and earnings reinforce one another?

Wealth can finance education or cushion unemployment; education can open access to higher-earning occupations; earnings can build wealth.

How do institutions and public policies shape inequality?

Schools, labor markets, taxes, benefits, and housing systems shape how resources translate into outcomes, so inequality is not simply the sum of individual choices.

How can wealth generate income?

Wealth can generate income through sources such as rent, interest, dividends, or business ownership.

What does a higher Gini index indicate, and what does it not reveal?

A higher Gini index indicates greater inequality, but the index does not show exactly where disparities occur.

What do income shares compare?

Income shares compare how much of the total income goes to groups such as the highest- and lowest-income fifths.