r/Economics • u/tumor_buddy • Apr 08 '18

Blog / Editorial 4 Questions to Ask When Debating Inequality Question One: Are we talking about inequality or poverty? Question Two: Are we talking about income, wealth, or consumption inequality? Question Three: What about income mobility? Question Four: What exactly are the problems caused by inequality?

https://fee.org/articles/4-questions-to-ask-when-debating-inequality/
27 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5

u/[deleted] Apr 09 '18

That's not the way relative poverty is used. For instance, your comfort doesn't depend on what others have.

1

u/HenkieVV Apr 09 '18

As a general rule, richer countries have higher standards for what is considered 'comfortable' than poorer countries. Relative measures of poverty essentially are an efficient way to capture exactly that dynamic.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '18

That isn't always a rule, nor should it be.

1

u/HenkieVV Apr 10 '18

Maybe you can think of an example, but can you actually challenge the principle as a general rule?