Asked by Elyssa Arcibal on Jun 20, 2024

verifed

Verified

Economists believe that looking at the distribution of income by quintiles at one moment overstates the true inequality of income because:

A) it ignores the effect of taxes.
B) it ignores the effect of transfer payments.
C) families near the bottom of the distribution in any given year may be having an unusually bad year,while those at the top may be having an unusually good one.
D) families near the bottom of the distribution in any given year are often having an unusually good year,while those at the top are often having an unusually bad one.

Transfer Payments

Payments made by governments to individuals or other entities without the expectation of a direct return or the provision of goods or services, such as social security benefits or subsidies.

Income Distribution

The way in which a nation's total GDP is distributed amongst its population.

Quintiles

Statistical values that divide a set of data into five equal parts, often used in economic and social research to analyze distribution.

  • Recognize how income distribution changes over time and the effects of life events on income mobility.
verifed

Verified Answer

VZ
Vanessa ZhangJun 26, 2024
Final Answer :
C
Explanation :
Looking at the distribution of income by quintiles at one moment may not accurately reflect the true inequality of income because the families near the bottom of the distribution in any given year may be having an unusually bad year, while those at the top may be having an unusually good one. This could be due to various factors such as economic cycles and individual circumstances. Therefore, a snapshot of income distribution at one moment may exaggerate or understate the true inequality of income.