Chapter 1. Economic Equality and Human Development

1.1 Synopsis

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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Welcome

Economic Equality and Human Development

Using an interactive world map and current data, this activity explores various nations’ GINI index, a measure of a nation's economic equality developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini.

Click the 'Get Started' button below to start this activity

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1.2 Economic Equality and Human Development

The GINI Index

Human development is linked to economic development and equality around the world. The following map highlights the GINI index, which measures how equal the distribution of wealth is within a given society. In a society with a GINI index of 0, everyone would have exactly the same amount of income. In a society with a GINI index of 100, one individual would have all the money. The map also shows the current life expectancy for many nations around the world. Notice that economic equality often seems to correlate with life expectancy—but not always.

CLICK ON A COUNTRY TO SEE ITS GINI INDEX AND CURRENT LIFE EXPECTANCY. IF USING A KEYBOARD, USE ARROWS TO NAVIGATE THE MAP.

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Go to map

1.3 Economic Equality and Human Development

Economic Equality and Human Development

If a person’s life expectancy depended solely on genes, then economic inequality would be irrelevant. However, we know that is not the case. The correlation between the GINI index and life expectancy is usually negative—meaning more inequality results in shorter lives.

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Question 1.1 Compare two nations, one high and one low in the GINI index.

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Your answer should consider several hypotheses and suggest archived data, experiments, and/or surveys that include many participants and measures to ensure validity and control for bias.

1.4 Activity Completed!

Congratulations! You have completed this activity.

REFERENCES

World Bank. (2019, July). GINI index (World Bank estimate). Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/si.pov.gini?end=2017&start=1979&view=chart

United Nations. (2019, June 17). UN Data: Life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined (years). Retrieved from: https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a68