I just posted this to my Facebook wall with the tagline I use for a headline conclusion that states a fact that everyone should know: "But of course." Globaliza

I just posted this to my Facebook wall with the tagline I use for a headline conclusion that states a fact that everyone should know: "But of course." Globalization (increasing international trade on increasingly free terms of trade across more goods and services) would have to act as a worldwide phenomenon to reduce income inequality. Moreover, a country's greater rather than lesser involvement in international trade generally reduces income inequality within the country. Many of the countries in Europe that have especially low Gini coefficients (in other words, have especially equal distributions of income) are long-time members of the European Free Trade Association, and many of the countries in Central and South America that have high Gini coefficients (that is the region on the world to look in for the worst income inequality, among regions of the world) have long had protectionist trade policies and remarkably little involvement in the world economy.[1] Free trade improves income equality.[2] If reducing income inequality is your policy goal, improving provision of primary and secondary education is a good idea,[3] and other policy responses may be useful in one country or another,[4] but the world trend should continue to be toward more and more trade, the better to reduce income inequality and raise real wealth for everyone. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq... [2] http://www.efta.int/statistics/news/efta-countries-show-decrease-income-inequality-2931 http://www.efta.int/statistics/news/efta-countries-show-decr... http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2014/lic/pdf/Lim.pdf http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2014/lic/pdf/Lim... [3] http://www.oecd.org/eco/labour/49421421.pdf http://www.oecd.org/eco/labour/49421421.pdf [4] http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/laura-tyson-describes-what-the-us-should-do-to-enhance-economic-growth-and-distributional-equity http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/laura-tyson-desc... AFTER EDIT: I would be glad to hear from multiple participants here from all over the world how your income (as a hacker?) compares to the median income in the country you live, and I have opened an Ask HN thread specifically to focus discussion on that topic, which may help me learn a lot about other people's perspectives here. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8058579 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8058579