Catholic Social Teaching

Gini Coefficients And Lorenz Curves

Calculus Project 3

Hannah Bursic, Luke Johnson, Yorich Poole, Adam Webb, Bre Bianco
Calculus 1 SMA 130-01
April 13, 2017
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Introduction:

The Gini Index is the measurement of the country’s income distribution and the Lorenz
Curves are a way to display the percentages of that information. The Gini index measures the
the gap between the rich and the poor using their net income to range them from 0 to 1. The
data displayed is called the Gini Coefficient. The Gini Coefficient helps analyze the relative
poverty of a country. Even though it shows the relative poverty of a country, it does not show the
wealth of a country. A country that is poor and a country that is wealthy can both have the same
Gini Coefficient even though they are not both as wealthy.
The Lorenz Curve is the graphical representation of the data collected from the Gini
index. The Lorenz Curve is displayed on a xy-coordinate plane where the y-axis represents the
percentage of total income and the x-axis represents cumulative percentage of individuals being
discussed.

1 𝑥2 0.9𝑥 3 0.1𝑥 2
1: 2∫0 (x - 0.9x2 - 0.1x)dx = 2( 2 - 3
- 2 + c)from x = 0 to x = 1.
1 0.9 0.1
= 2(2 - 3
- 2 + c) - 2(0 - 0 - 0 + c) = 0.3

1 𝑥 2 0.1𝑥 3 0.9𝑥 2
2: 2∫0 (x - 0.1x2 - 0.9x)dx = 2( - - + c) from x = 0 to x = 1.
2 3 2
1 0.1 0.9
= 2( - - + c) - 2(0 - 0 - 0 + c) = 0.33
2 3 2

3: Table 1: Information from The World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/

GINI index (World Bank estimate)

U.S.A. China Russian Federation Brazil

2013 2012 2012 2012

41.1 42.2 41.6 52.7

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4: Figure 1: Scatterplot of U.S. Gini Index from 1986 to 2013

For the past 25 years the US has been facing an ever increasing income disparity. Since
1986 the US has had an 3.27 increase to its disparity. According to a few statistics the US could
reach a disparity of 48(or more) by the year 2050. These same researchers project the world
income disparity to fall below 21 by the year 2050. This is extremely troubling since the cost of
living in the US is also growing at an exceptional rate. What will become of this country as the
rich get richer and the poor get poorer?

5: The Gini Index is not a perfect way of discussing the topic of income inequality because the
graph is basically the rich versus the poor. The gini coefficient is just stating who has what
money. If the score is “0”, that represents complete equality, meaning that everyone has the
same amount of money. While if the score is “1”, that shows complete inequality, that one
person has all of the money while others have none. The Gini Index does not really tell us that
much about equality and inequality. Not everyone is going to have the same amount of money
and not one person is going to have it all. Everyone makes a different amount of money.

6: The Gini Index can be related back to the Catholic Social teachings because of the increasing
gap in our society. The theme of our call to family, community, and participation is strongly
represented here, catholics believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society,
seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
There is a huge income disparity growing yearly in the United States because of this, the
teaching I have mentioned previously comes into play. As catholics in America we have the duty
of helping all people especially those who are not as fortunate as ourselves.
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Another catholic social teaching, options for the poor and vulnerable is very similar to this,
catholics are called to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. As the rich get richer and
the poor get poorer in the United States, catholics must remember their brothers and sisters
who are less fortunate. Almost all of the catholic social teachings go back to the same idea of
loving our brothers and sisters no matter their race, gender, and social status. The teaching of
solidarity talks specifically of this, that we are one family and must support those who do not
have what we have, or are similar to ourselves. The Gini Index shows the growing gap between
the rich and the poor, the catholic social teachings will increasingly come more and more into
play over the years as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.

7: Gender-based, income inequality follows the standards of racism, bias, and mistreatment. It
is unfair, unethical, and provides a poor example to the world of employment opportunities in
America. In Saint Paul’s emphasis on The Dignity and Rights of Workers, he states that all
workers have a right to productive work and fair wages. Anything but a zero percent gender pay
gap violates the understanding of “fair wages”. Community and the Common good is another
standard that the U.S. missed the mark on, as the common good is not considered when
furthering a growth in financial gender inequality. A community, even a capitalistic community,
should desire equivalence between members of society that have little difference.

Conclusion:

Despite minor discrepancies in reliability when using the Gini coefficient and measuring
the Gini index, an obvious trend is still apparent when comparing the approximate pay gap of
1986 and 2013. As recent studies and Gini coefficient calculations indicate, the gender-based
pay gap peaked in 2007, the highest income gap in history. Although the general disparity in the
United States is slowly decreasing, there is still an alarmingly high number of individuals
experiencing a serious income deficit between men and women.
To combat inequality and economic disparity, individuals all over the world must safely
speak out against this epic miscarriage of justice, in the hope that federal legislation will be
passed and that awareness will be widespread. As pay inequality remains a social and
economic issue, many basic catholic social teachings cannot be upheld. The United States, a
leading world power, is idealized being honorable and just. Gender inequality is certainly not
just, and refusing to accept that it is a substantial world issue is in no way honorable. Raise
awareness.