Economic inequality Essay

Economic inequality refers to the measure of wealth in society, basing the income wages between social groups. The economic disparity, in most cases, is determined by evaluating the distribution of salaries among individuals. Theoretically, the difference in most cases is viewed to be a vicious cycle; that is, the rich will have wealth, and the poor remain poorer. The concept applies to economic inequality also because those individuals earning high wages will have resources to invest (Ritter& Solt, 2019). While low earners lack resources to invest, thus, the gap between the two classes, tend to widen every time. Economic inequality in most countries exists due to various reasons such as; the level of education that is proportional to the possession of the skills. Also, technology growth is another cause of economic inequality. Economic inequality can have adverse effects in society in several ways; first, it increases crime rates, decreases health, and increase political instability.

First, economic inequality leads to increased crime rates due to unequal wealth distribution. The correlation between crimes and economic inequality in society is viewed as proportional. In situations where economic inequality exists, crime rates tend to be high. Since some groups of individuals may feel disadvantages, thus fueling them to engage in crimes, especially when jobs are scarce. Also, inequality in society tends to be a motivator to engage in crimes (Uslaner & Rothstein, 2016). For instance, where the income gap between high and low earners is vast, there are also limited laws on the acquisition of resources. Therefore, individuals may choose to unlawfully obtain resources when they consider the return of illegal and legal means. Besides that, economic inequality also leads to a reduction of law enforcement to the society, thus resulting in increased crimes. In rich countries, more funds are allocated to the police sector to enforce laws as compared to poor ones.

Second, economic inequality results in decreases health in society in that inadequate individuals are limited to quality health services. In an economy inequality state, the unfortunate individuals are subjected to various types of illnesses since they are not able to access healthy foods and improved healthcare. For instance, in food desert areas, obesity rates are likely to be more due to inappropriateness to access health foods (Vega & Sribney, 2017). Thus living in a society where the wage gap is wide results in a reduction of quality health services. The unfortunate individual cannot afford quality services from private hospitals

Last, economic inequality results in reduced quality of education in society. In an economy equal society, the level of teachings tends to be high since there is funding to public school programs. On the other hand, in inequality economy society, there is a reduction in education quality. Low quality of education in the community with economic inequality is high because there are little or no investments towards the education sector. Also, economic disparities in a society tend to have no scholarship; thus, the poor are disadvantaged and not able to pay for education programs (Enamorado et al., 2016). Therefore, most of them prefer spending their time working in sweatshops than in schools. Thus the result is low levels of education since children cannot obtain education hence poverty cycles in society.

Economy inequality is a significant problem affecting society today due to its adverse effects. However, addressing economic disparities may be a useful approach that will change other social issues. For example, where the economy is equal, the country can allocate funds to the law enforcement sector to reduce crimes (Bapuji, 2015). Also, addressing economic inequality in society will lead to improved education quality. There will be funding to public schools and also provide scholarships that will enable children from wealthy and low-income families to have equal opportunities to attend schools. Therefore, economic inequality is a disastrous problem in society that should be addressed to balance the economy between rich and poor.

References

Bapuji, H. (2015). Individuals, interactions, and institutions: How economic inequality affects organizations. Human Relations, 68(7), 1059-1083.

Enamorado, T., López-Calva, L. F., Rodríguez-Castelán, C., & Winkler, H. (2016). Income inequality and violent crime: Evidence from Mexico’s drug war. Journal of Development Economics, 120, 128-143.

Ritter, M., & Solt, F. (2019). Economic Inequality and Campaign Participation. Social Science Quarterly, 100(3), 678-688.

Uslaner, E. M., & Rothstein, B. (2016). The historical roots of corruption: State building, economic inequality, and mass education. Comparative Politics, 48(2), 227-248.

Vega, W. A., & Sribney, W. M. (2017). Growing economic inequality sustains health disparities — American journal of public health, 107(10), 1606.