Rich and poor: these factors that explain income inequality

By working on the question of equal opportunities, a pillar of the French Republican promise, the teams of France Strategy, a think-tank dependent on Matignon, have tackled a field where prejudices thrive more than studies.

In their note entitled "Inequalities of opportunity: what matters most", the researchers try to measure the predictive power of sex and the family and territorial environment, i.e. "characteristics which are assigned to you by fate", according

Gilles de Margerie, commissioner general of the institution, on the level of activity income (salary and self-employed income) of young professionals.

From a sample of around 100,000 individuals aged 31 to 46 in 2018, they established a very clear hierarchy of the weight of these factors.

Unsurprisingly, it is the social environment that proves to be the most decisive.

On average, 1,100 euros of income separates a quarter of privileged people from a quarter of the poorest, all things being equal...

This article is for subscribers only.

You have 74% left to discover.

Want to read more?

Unlock all items immediately.

TEST FOR €0.99

Already subscribed?

Login