What you’ll learn10 learning objectivesChoose one objective for a focused lesson, or study the complete topic.3.4.1Equality and equity• Equality and equity are related but distinct concepts• Equity involves fairness and may require normative judgmentSyllabus objective3.4.2Economic inequality• Economic inequality includes unequal distribution of income• Economic inequality also includes unequal distribution of wealthSyllabus objective3.4.3Measuring inequality• Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient measure income distribution• Diagram: Lorenz curve showing income distribution and changes in distributionSyllabus objective3.4.4Poverty and poverty measurement• Absolute poverty differs from relative poverty• Poverty can be measured using international poverty lines and minimum income standards• Composite measures include the Multidimensional Poverty Index• Measuring poverty has practical and conceptual difficultiesSyllabus objective3.4.5Causes of inequality and poverty• Causes include unequal opportunity, resource ownership, human capital, discrimination, status, and power• Government tax and benefit policies can affect inequality and poverty• Globalisation, technological change, and market-based supply-side policies can affect inequality and povertySyllabus objective3.4.6Impacts of inequality• Income and wealth inequality affect economic growth• Inequality affects standards of living and social stabilitySyllabus objective3.4.7Taxation and redistribution• Progressive, regressive, and proportional taxes affect distribution differently• Average and marginal tax rates are used to analyse tax burdens• Direct taxes include personal income, corporate income, and wealth taxes• Indirect taxes affect expenditure and can be regressiveSyllabus objective3.4.8Further policies to reduce poverty and inequality• Policies include investment in human capital and reducing inequality of opportunity• Transfer payments, targeted spending, universal basic income, anti-discrimination policies, and minimum wages can reduce poverty or inequalitySyllabus objective3.4.9(HL)—Lorenz curve construction• Construct a Lorenz curve from income quintile dataSyllabus objective3.4.10(HL)—Taxation calculations• Calculate indirect tax paid from a tax rate and expenditure level• Calculate total tax and average tax rates from dataSyllabus objective