Assessment Questions 10.13

1. In the United States, what percentage of the population is estimated to be in the richest 1%, and how much wealth do they own?

In the United States, it is estimated that the richest 1% owns about 43% of the total wealth.

2. What is the Gini coefficient, and how does it measure economic inequality in a society?

The Gini coefficient is a standard statistical measure of the concentration of wealth in a society. It ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 representing economic equality (everyone has an equal amount of wealth), and 1 representing maximum economic inequality (all wealth concentrated in the hands of one individual).

3. How does the Gini coefficient for ancient societies, as calculated from house size, compare to modern societies like the United States and China?

The Gini coefficient for ancient societies, based on house size, was lower (around .35) than coefficients for the modern United States (.8) and modern China (.73), indicating less wealth concentration and economic inequality in antiquity.