Abstract | Population inequality is a pressing global problem that scientists, activists, and some politicians
have been pointing to for decades. It is reflected in inequalities in income, in wealth and
inequality in opportunities. Inequality can be observed and analysed as inequalities between
European countries, which is most often measured by realized national income, and inequalities
within European countries, which is most often measured by the Gini coefficient and the S80/S20
ratio. Inequality among the population can also be measured by various indicators that show the
socioeconomic status of the individual. Many previous studies have tried to determine the
connection between inequality and achieved national economic results, but also the connection
between different indicators of inequality, poverty and the social status of the individual. The
previous research on the relationship between inequality and economic growth shows
contradictory results depending on the research settings. Depending on the research conditions,
past studies on the connection between inequality and economic growth have produced
inconsistent findings. Inequality, poverty, unemployment, and (lack of) education, particularly
among young people, are examined in this article in order to determine how they impact
economic growth in the European Union. Multiple regression and bivariate correlation are used
in the methodology. In four models, multiple regression analyses were carried out. The panel
sample includes the years 2010 through 2019 and includes 27 European Union nations. The
findings indicate a weak correlation between the rise in persistent risk of poverty and the
acceleration of economic growth in the member states of the European Union, which partially
confirms the research's central hypothesis. The ratio of S80/S20 (population under 65 years old)
between the total income received by the quintile of the population with the highest income and
the quintile of the population with the lowest income has a significant beneficial impact on the
economic growth of European Union countries. But reducing the S80/S20 ratio for the population
over 65 increases GDP growth. Also, reduction of percentage of young people not in employment
and not in education results growth increase. However, the possibility of this relationship being
bidirectional makes it impossible to make any conclusions about its causality. So, conditionally
speaking, greater inequality in the income of the population under the age of 65 leads to an
increase in GDP with a simultaneous decrease in unemployed young people without education. |
Study programme | Title: Business Economics; specializations in: Finance and Banking, Entrepreneurship, Management, Finance and Accounting, Marketing, International Business, IT Business, International Business IT Business Course: International Business Study programme type: university Study level: graduate Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra ekonomije (magistar/magistra ekonomije) |