Social Inequality in Germany. An Analysis of Wealth and Income Distribution since 1990 (PDF)

Essay from the year 2023 in the subject Economics - Other, grade: 1,7, University of Ulm (Wirtschaftswissenschaften), course: Topics in Inequality and Poverty, language: English, abstract: Many people in Germany are afraid of the high inflation rate and worry about their economic situation. According to the Hans Böckler Foundation, the Covid-19 pandemic has not only increased this uncertainty of citizens but also social inequality in Germany. In order to find out and understand the reasons for the uncertainties and fears within the German society, the following report analyzes the distribution of income and wealth in recent years in the period 1990 - 2021. The developments in the distributions are examined with the help of empirically collected data from public institutions.

With the distribution of income and wealth and the equality of opportunity within a society, social inequalities can be identified in quantitative terms. This is done using the Gini coefficient, which is a standard statistical measure used to determine the inequality of a distribution. In this context, the term income refers to all income in the form of money or material goods received by a person, a household, or a company within a defined period of time. The term wealth refers to all valued durable goods and rights such as real estate, securities, or cash of a person, a company, or an economy.

Equal opportunities can also be used as a reference to determine social inequality. Every citizen has the right to freely develop his or her personality, regardless of whether one comes from a rich, poor, religious, or colored family. No one should have disadvantages in their educational and personal development opportunities, regardless of the income level of their parents. This is not yet the case even in the year 2022, because, among other things, the school success or the job search, depend on the financial situation of the parents and the actions of influential persons.