The process and size of global income distribution: A review for the 1980-2016 period

Year 2019, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 59 - 76, 30.12.2019

Emin Efecan Aktaş

Abstract

Inequality, a concept at the heart of social justice theories, generally refers to the non-equivalence of rights and opportunities. The concept of inequality can lead to misconceptions or confusion in public debates because it tends to express different things to people. The term "income inequality" is often used to distinguish economic inequality from others. The issue of how income is distributed in an economy, in a country and in a given period is determined by income distribution and related calculation methods. At this point, it becomes more important to determine income inequality by which income groups and how much income is gained rather than how the income is distributed. Although income inequality is in a periodic and domestic or transnational decline trend, many studies have indicated that it continues to exist at the global level and income inequality has increased in some periods and economic regions. Inequality continues to increase among countries, especially among the richest and poorest countries, due to the ever-increasing growth rates of successful developed economies compared to other economies. For instance, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America have the least growth in income distribution while China has made the best progress in global income distribution. In this context, the aim of this study is to analyze the current situation of the process of global income distribution for the period 1980-2016 and the size of income inequality worldwide with the current data compiled from several reports after an overall assessment of the causes of increased income inequality.

Keywords

Income Inequality, Income Share, Income Distribution

Küresel gelir dağılımının seyri ve boyutu: 1980-2016 dönemi için bir inceleme

Abstract

Sosyal adalet teorilerinin merkezinde bir kavram olan eşitsizlik genel olarak haklarda ve fırsatlarda denk olmama durumunu ifade etmektedir. Ancak eşitsizlik kavramı, insanlara farklı şeyler ifade etme eğiliminde olduğu için kamuoyu tartışmalarında yanılgılara veya karışıklığa yol açabilmektedir. Ekonomik eşitsizliği diğerlerinden ayırt etmek için çoğunlukla “gelir eşitsizliği” kavramı kullanılmaktadır. Gelirin bir ekonomide, bir ülkede ve belirli bir dönemde nasıl dağıldığı hususu da gelir dağılımı ve buna ilişkin hesaplama yöntemleri ile tespit edilmektedir. Bu noktada ise gelirin nasıl dağıldığından çok, hangi gelir grupları tarafından ve ne kadar elde edildiği, gelir eşitsizliğinin tespiti için önem kazanmaktadır. Gelir eşitsizliğinin dönemsel ve ülke içi veya bölgeler ve ülkeler arası azalma eğilimindeki seyrine karşın, küresel düzeyde varlığını sürdürdüğü ve bazı dönemlerde ve ekonomik bölgelerde ise gelir eşitsizliğinin arttığı pek çok çalışmada belirtilmektedir. Ülkeler arasında ve özellikle en zengin ve en fakir ülkeler arasında, başarılı gelişmiş ekonomilerin diğer ekonomilere kıyasla büyüme oranlarındaki sürekli artan fark sebebiyle eşitsizlik artışı devam etmektedir. Örneğin, Çin küresel gelir dağılımında en iyi gelişmeyi kaydeden ülke iken Sahra altı Afrika ve Latin Amerika ülkeleri gelir dağılımında en az oranda büyüme sağlayan ülkelerdir. Bu çerçevede, bu çalışmanın amacı, artan gelir eşitsizliğinin nedenlerine ilişkin genel bir değerlendirme yapıldıktan sonra, 1980-2016 dönemi için küresel gelir dağılımının seyrinin ve dünya genelinde gelir eşitsizliğinin boyutunun çeşitli raporlardan derlenen güncel verilerle mevcut durum analizini yapmaktır.

Keywords

Gelir Eşitsizliği, Gelir Dağılımı, Gelir Payı

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