An Exercise

Which of the statements below are concerned with equality? Which ones are concerned with equity? Do you agree with the statement or are you okay with the policy?

B. People on higher incomes should pay more tax than those on lower incomes

C. The government should pay the same amount for each student whether they go to a private school or a state school.

D. An advertisement free TV channel should be provided

E. University access should be free to all.

F. Special scholarships should be available to disadvantaged groups.

G. Landlords cannot discriminate against religious or racial characteristics of potential tenants.

J. A program that pays you based on your I.Q. (Lower more money)

K. Forced reading program for all children

L. Anonymous job interviews

M. Quota system for university education

N. Forced busing of kids to low income neighbourhoods

O. Title Nine (equal funding of girls and boys sports)

R. All countries that participated in the slave trade must give 20% of their GDP per year to African/Asian nations

2. Which of the following statements best matches with your concept of equity? Justify your position.

a. Accept the market outcome

b. Accept the market outcome but ensure equality of opportunity

c. People should keep what they earn but there should be some safety net for those unable to earn enough.

d. Government should try to reduce the spread of income by taking from those on higher incomes to give to those on lower incomes (redistribution)

e. Government should aim for nearly equal income distribution

3. Why is equity so much harder to measure than equality? Which one is normative in nature and which one is positive?

4. What role does your socioeconomic status play in your view of fairness? How does economics attempt to deal with this problem?