Extract C
In recent debates across several OECD nations, including Canada, Japan, and South Korea, issues concerning social justice and economic distribution have taken center stage. Discussions have frequently focused on equality, equity, tax structures, and the growing concern over whether the deregulation of labor markets has disproportionately harmed lower-skilled workers.
While some OECD countries have long-standing statutory minimum wage frameworks, others rely heavily on sector-specific collective bargaining agreements, leading to highly varied outcomes in wage distribution. Trade unions argue that without robust wage indexation, the real purchasing power of households in the lowest deciles has stagnated. Critics of deregulation point out that market forces alone often fail to secure a decent standard of living, leaving certain occupations particularly vulnerable to extremely low wages.
Using the information in Extract C, explain the difference between ‘equality’ and ‘equity’, and analyse why, left to market forces, some workers will earn very low wages.
76 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Economics 1.7 The distribution of income and wealth: poverty and inequality (A-level only), covering 1.7.1 The distribution of income and wealth, 1.7.2 The problem of poverty, and 1.7.3 Government policies to alleviate poverty and to influence the distribution of income and wealth. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.