What level of inequality will achieve the greatest level of sustainable economic growth?

1. What level of inequality will achieve the greatest level of sustainable economic growth? Mayukh Padhi

2. Why this topic? • I want to do an economics degree • Inequality was a big issue, especially in America • Lots of new sources were coming out on this topic at the time

3. Choosing the sources • There was no shortage of sources, deciding which ones not to use was the bigger issue • Rejecting sources was the main decision to make

4. Research questions • Split into three questions: • Causes of growth • Causes of inequality • How do growth and inequality link? • Repeat for each country

5. Problems • Deciding on my case study countries • Rejecting sources that were too bias • Controversy over figures used • Referencing sources correctly • Deciding on a title to begin with • Finishing the report before my exams

6. My findings

7. Measuring growth • Done by the measure GDP Per Capita PPP • Caused by greater supply or demand • Demand’s major component is consumer spending • Supply’s major component is capital

8. Inequality • Use of the Gini index • Used figure usually used for measuring development such as IMR and literacy rates • Low inequality isn’t necessarily a good thing

9. China • High rate of consumption led growth • Gini index of 47% • Growth not sustainable • High inequality between males and females • High inequality between those in urban areas and those in rural areas

10. Sweden • 0.9% economic growth • Very low inequality • No poverty • Aggressive progressive tax scheme • Relies heavily on exports to the EU • Higher growth will be possible

11. Conclusion • Low IMR (5.9 deaths/1,000 live births) • No disparity between males and females • Gini index of around 40% • Social mobility is possible for all so that human capital will be in plentiful supply “Lack of opportunity means that its most valuable asset — its people — is not being fully used” – J. Stiglitz