Friday 9 February 2007

World press photo

This is the World Press Photo 2007. A group of Lebanese youth are touring a neighbourhood in Beirout which was destroyed by Israeli bombs. The picture was taken by American photographer Spencer Platt. Not only does it show the contrast between these fashionable people in their nice car with the destroyed buildings in the background, the photo also provides us with a good illustration of the gap between rich and poor. Closing that gap will be one of the main challenges for politicans to work on during the next decade or so. The income (in)equality in an economy can be measured by the Gini coefficient. The lower the Gini coefficient, the more equal income is distributed. For instance the Netherlands has a Gini coefficient of 30.9, Singapore 42.5 and the USA 40.8.

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