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Important Economic Curves
1. Kuznets Curve
It shows the relationship between economic
growth and inequality. It is inverted U shaped meaning that as initially economic growth leads to greater inequality, followed later by the reduction of inequality.
The idea was first proposed by American
economist Simon Kuznets. 2. Lorenz curve
The Lorenz curve is a way of showing the
distribution of income (or wealth) within an economy. It was developed by Max O. Lorenz in 1905 for representing wealth distribution. The Lorenz curve shows the cumulative share of income from different sections of the population. If there was perfect equality i.e., if everyone had the same salary then the poorest 20% of the population would gain 20% of the total income. The poorest 60% of the population would get 60% of the income. Gini-coefficient
The Gini-coefficient is a statistical measure
of inequality that describes how equal or unequal income or wealth is distributed mong the population of a country. It was developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini in 1912. The coefficient ranges from 0 (or 0%) to 1 (or 100%), with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. Values over 1 are theoretically possible due to negative income or wealth. 3. Philips curve
The Phillips curve is an economic concept
developed by A. W. Phillips stating that inflation and unemployment have a stable and inverse relationship. The theory claims that with economic growth comes inflation, which in turn should lead to more jobs and less unemployment. However, the original concept has been some what disproven empirically due to the occurren ce of stagflation in the 1970s, when there were high levels of both inflation and unemployment. 4. Environmental Kuznets curve
It shows the relationship between
economic progress and environmenta l degradation through time as an economy progresses. As countries develop initially, pollution increases, but later, with further development pollution begins to come down. Thus, it is an inverted U-shaped curve. 5. J Curve
The J Curve is an economic theory that says
the trade deficit will initially worsen after currency depreciation. The nominal trade deficit initially grows after a devaluation, as prices of exports rise before quantities can adjust. Then the response to the curve, which is to an increase in imports as exports remain static, is a rebound, forming a “J” shape. The J Curve theory can be applied to other areas besides trade deficits, including in private equity, the medical field, and politics. 6. Laffer curve
The Laffer Curve states that if tax rates are
increased above a certain level, then tax revenues can actually fall because higher tax rates discourage people from working. The Curve was developed by economist Arthur Laffer to show the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments. The curve is used to illustrate Laffer’s argument that sometimes cutting tax rates can increase total tax revenue. 7. Engel curve
The Engel curve describes how the spending on a
certain good varies with household income. The shape of an Engel curve is impacted by demographic variables, such as age, gender, and educ ational level, as well as other consumer characteristic s. The Engel curve also varies for different types of goods. With income level as the x-axis and expenditures as the y-axis, the Engel curves show upward slopes for normal goods, which have a positive income elasticity of demand. Inferior goods, with negative income elasticity, assume negative slopes for their Engel curves. In the case of food, the Engel curve is concave downward with a positive but decreasing slope. 8. Beveridge curve
This refers to a graphical representation that shows the
relationship between the unemployment rate (on the horizontal axis) and the job vacancy rate (on the vertical axis) in an economy. It is named after British economist William Beveridge. The Beveridge curve usually slopes downwards because times when there is high job vacancy in an economy are also marked by relatively low unemployment since companies may actually be actively looking to hire new people. 9. Rahn curve
The Rahn Curve suggests that there is an optimal level of
government spending which maximises the rate of economic growth. Initially, higher government spending helps to improve economic performance. But, after exceeding a certain amount of government spending, government taxes and intervention diminishes economic performance and growth rates. S.no Curve Comparison 1 Kuznets curve Economic inequality and per capita income cumulative share of income and sections of the 2 Lorenz curve population 3 Philips curve inflation and unemployment Environmental Kuznets 4 Environmental degradation and per capita income curve 5 J Curve Trade deficit and currency depriciation 6 Laffer curve Tax rate and tax revenue 7 Engel curve Income level vs expenditure on commodities 8 Beveridge curve Unemployment rate and job vacancy 9 Rahn curve Government expenditure and growth rate 10 Economy recovery curves Time and GDP