1. Income Distribution and Undernutrition
Text extracted from
The World Food Problem
Leathers & Foster, 2004
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2. Poorest of the Poor Live in third world Mostly landless
Work for others, menial jobs
Poorly educated
Illiterate
Superstitious
Squatters who live in huts
Almost no food
Fragmented household
Debt to relatives or lenders

3. Per capita incomes differ
Democratic Republic Congo: $80/yr
Switzerland: $38,330
Average person in Switzerland makes 500X more than in Mozambique.
If compute purchasing power parity, difference between richest and poorest countries is 80X

4. Purchasing Power Parity
2003

5. Global Incomes

6. Distribution of World GNP
1989
2011

7. Human Development Index
Measures quality of life
High HDI
High income countries
Low HDI
Low income countries
HDI not perfectly correlated with income

8. Gini Coefficient Gini coefficient: Lowest inequity is in Japan
Based on area of crescent made by Lorenz curve
measures inequity of wealth
= A/A+B
Gini index = Gini coefficient x 100
Lowest inequity is in Japan
Gini coefficient = .249
Gini index = 24.9
Richest 20% controls 35% of income
Highest inequity is in Brazil
Gini index= 60.7
Richest 20% controls 64% of income

9. Global Gini Coefficients

10. Kuznets Curve As a country develops, rich must get richer first
Therefore inequity will increase initially
Later, inequity will drop as prosperity increases
Data from 75 countries

11. Wealthy out-compete poor for food
Can outbid poor for food
Also purchase more livestock
Herd becomes more dependent on grain
Price of grain is bid up
Harder for the poor to buy grain

12. Overall inequity declining slowly after rise starting in 1980s

13. Child Labor 250 million children work worldwide Jobs
22% of workforce in Asia
17% of workforce in Latin America
1/3 of children in sub-Saharan Africa
Jobs
Agriculture
Textiles
Maids and services
Construction and manufacturing
Prostitution
Many sold into debt bondage
To pay parent’s debt or as collateral
Advance on wages

14. U.S. Poor are Wealthy Poverty income Person at poverty line in U.S.
$9,359/yr
Person at poverty line in U.S.
has higher income than 80% of people in the world
97% poor households in U.S. have color TV

15. U.S. Middle Class Decline

16. U.S. Inequity increasing
Gini coefficients:
1968: 38.6:
1970: 39.4
1980: 40.3
1990: 42.2
2000: 46.2
2007: 47.0

20. Rich in U.S. getting richer

22. Hunger in the U.S.A.
41 million people live in households that experience hunger (2016)
Includes 6.5 million children
One in 8 households in the United States
1/5 of U.S. food ends up in the landfill
Sources: USDA (2016), Feeding America (2015)