The World Inequality Database (WID) provides a transparent, publicly accessible resource for tracking global inequality. By harmonizing diverse data sources and providing long-run historical data, it aims to shift public debate from abstract speculation to empirical facts, thereby enabling more informed policymaking and academic research.

Google

The World Inequality Database (WID) is an open-access database that provides extensive historical and comparative data on the distribution of income and wealth, both within and between countries. Maintained by a network of international researchers, it aims to democratize access to economic data and inform public debate on inequality.

World Inequality Database (WID)

This activity involves navigating to the World Inequality Database website and using its 'By country' dropdown menu feature. Users are prompted to select a country of personal interest, such as their country of residence, to investigate its specific inequality data.

Activity: Exploring Country-Specific Data on the World Inequality Database

The World Inequality Database (WID) utilizes several key metrics to measure economic inequality. These include income and wealth shares, such as the share of total income or wealth held by the top 10%, top 1%, or bottom 50% of the population. Other important indicators available are wealth-to-income ratios and the Gini coefficient, which provide different perspectives on the concentration and distribution of economic resources within a country.

Key Metrics in the World Inequality Database

Purpose of the World Inequality Database

The World Inequality Database (WID) constructs its data series by systematically combining and harmonizing information from national accounts, household surveys, tax records, and wealth rankings. A key part of this methodology involves making explicit adjustments to ensure consistency across countries and over time, correcting for tax evasion and the under-reporting of top incomes and wealth that standard surveys often miss.

Learn Before

Related