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economic inequality

economic inequality

7 4.1
A difference in how money and goods are shared between people or groups
  • noun
  • /ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk ˌɪnɪˈkwɑːləti/
translation icon : desigualdad económica
  • The settlement house movement sought to alleviate distress by addressing underlying social ills: poverty, unemployment, and economic inequality.
  • social and economic inequality
  • political and economic inequality
  • socio-economic inequality

What roles have government and private markets played in creating economic inequality, and what can and should they do to reduce it?

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Examples

  • The focus was on social and economic inequality, dependence, and political authoritarianism.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Of course, developing nations are frequently faced with economic inequality.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Social and economic inequality has been an extremely persistent problem in Latin America.

    Academic text (1992)
  • After remaining steady for almost a decade, poverty and economic inequality have increased in Latin America in the last three years.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Moreover, these programs also help reduce social and economic inequalities.

    Academic text (2001)
  • In Gulf countries, however, rents/GDP rates are much higher and economic inequality is lower.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The contemporary climate of high economic inequality thus promotes a pattern of consumption that both reflects and maintains those inequalities.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Many believe that addressing economic inequality could lead to a more just society.

  • The government is implementing new policies to reduce economic inequality among its citizens.

  • Rising economic inequality has been a major concern for activists and policymakers alike.

Synonyms

inequality
vseconomic inequality
183 4.2

A situation where some people have fewer rights or chances than others

focuses on unequal distribution of wealth income or resources specifically
inequity
vseconomic inequality
25 7.4

Unfair treatment that gives some people fewer chances or help

is a neutral description of unequal distribution of wealth or resources without judging fairness
gap between rich and poor
vseconomic inequality
3 3.4

The difference in how much money and comfort rich and poor people have

is broader and covers unequal distribution across various individuals or groups
maldistribution
vseconomic inequality
  • Specialized
1 8.6

An unfair spread of resources and chances between people or groups

is the common general term describing unequal distribution of wealth and resources

How Unequal

economic inequality
7 4.1
equality
293 2.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

economic + inequality

This is fully compositional: 'inequality' means disparity and the adjective 'economic' specifies that the disparity concerns wealth, income, or resources, so the combined meaning is directly derivable from the parts. The adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows ordinary English modification, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Economic inequality combines economic meaning money and jobs and inequality meaning 'not equal'. Imagine some people with tall piles of coins and others with very small piles; this image shows why it means the unequal spread of 'wealth' or 'income' among people in a society.