Income and wealth Inequality in Australia Essay - 1101 Words

Inequality is present in every economy, but to what extent are income and wealth in Australia unequal and what government polices contravene income and wealth inequality? Income is defined as money that an individual or business receives in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital, while wealth is a measure of the value of all of the assets of worth owned by a person, community, company or country. Income and wealth inequality refers to the degree to which income is unevenly distributed among people in an economy. The share of total income received by different groups measures inequality, this visually represented in the Lorenz curve. The line of perfect equality bisects the graph with the percentage of income†¦show more content†¦This reveals that a relatively small proportion of households have high net worth and a large portion of households have low net worth, concluding with the simple statement that: The distribution of wealth is more unequal in Australia than the distribution of income. The disparities accounted for in the distribution of wealth and income tends to reflect wealth that is accumulated during a person’s working life and utilised during retirement. Whilst this sources the foundation of inequality, the distribution of income in Australia is influenced by socio-economic factors such as gender, age, occupation and ethnicity. Gender is a common inconsistency in various economies, during 2013 average weekly earnings for males were $1516 while females earned $1250, this is still coherent for males and females in the same occupational categories, and is augmented for opposite genders in different occupational categories. In terms of ethnicity, it has been recorded that persons born overseas earn more than persons born in Australia, that non-English speaking backgrounds earn less than English speaking backgrounds and the period of residence in Australia is proportional to the income earned. However, the lowest income earners in the Australian community a re Indigenous Australians and being heavily reliant on government welfare, earn a substantial loss in income compared to thatShow MoreRelatedPotential Solutions For High Youth Unemployment1005 Words   |  5 Pagessolutions for high youth unemployment in Australia be solved, and what are its implications on inequality for young Australians? I. 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