Public Economics
NUI, Galway | Public Economics Essay: With respect to inequality and poverty how does Ireland compare to other Western industrialized countries? | Padraig Mc Govern | | 08604070 | 3/9/2012 |
Lecturer: Professor Eamon O Shea
Course code: 4BCM1
Introduction
The following essay will compare Ireland with respect to inequality and poverty to the United States and the United Kingdom. I will use the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to analyse their position in the world’s economy; identify how to measure poverty; the main reasons for poverty and inequality in these three countries; use graphs and references to illustrate my evidence; and then finally give a brief conclusion to my essay. Anyone who sets out to present an essay which covers the current state of a subject runs the risk or change that a number of important topics have been omitted. Attempting to survey the rapidly expanding boundaries of the domain of public sector economics is, therefore, a risky venture.
Poverty
Poverty does not have one plain definition. It is a complicated, multi-faceted term that has different meanings in different concepts. In relation to this essay, I will refer to poverty as a lack of access to basic resources including food, clean water, sanitation, education and capital. The term 'absolute poverty' signifies a population that is living below $1 (U.S) a day. In the case there are over 1.2 billion people on Earth are living in absolute poverty. Relative poverty on the other hand is poverty within a country. Although Ireland has a high human development, there are still people within the country who are relatively poor, compared with richer people in the country. The people whom fall into the ‘relative poverty’ bracket are those relatively poor people are not living in absolute poverty but can be considered poor.
In Ireland, 11 basic items are used to construct the deprivation index: * Without heating at some stage in the last year * Unable
Lecturer: Professor Eamon O Shea
Course code: 4BCM1
Introduction
The following essay will compare Ireland with respect to inequality and poverty to the United States and the United Kingdom. I will use the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to analyse their position in the world’s economy; identify how to measure poverty; the main reasons for poverty and inequality in these three countries; use graphs and references to illustrate my evidence; and then finally give a brief conclusion to my essay. Anyone who sets out to present an essay which covers the current state of a subject runs the risk or change that a number of important topics have been omitted. Attempting to survey the rapidly expanding boundaries of the domain of public sector economics is, therefore, a risky venture.
Poverty
Poverty does not have one plain definition. It is a complicated, multi-faceted term that has different meanings in different concepts. In relation to this essay, I will refer to poverty as a lack of access to basic resources including food, clean water, sanitation, education and capital. The term 'absolute poverty' signifies a population that is living below $1 (U.S) a day. In the case there are over 1.2 billion people on Earth are living in absolute poverty. Relative poverty on the other hand is poverty within a country. Although Ireland has a high human development, there are still people within the country who are relatively poor, compared with richer people in the country. The people whom fall into the ‘relative poverty’ bracket are those relatively poor people are not living in absolute poverty but can be considered poor.
In Ireland, 11 basic items are used to construct the deprivation index: * Without heating at some stage in the last year * Unable