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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries. The rise of inequality has been well documented in the literature. Inequality also manifests itself spatially: large cities are home to stark disparities in income and access to services (e.g. slums, poor or marginalized neighbourhoods). In addition to inequalities within cities, there are also significant inequalities between urban and rural areas and between regions. This is an important issue for sub-national governments, as they control land use, policies to drive local economic growth, and provision of basic services, which can all impact on inequality. Examples of indicators for target 10.1, focused on income inequalities, are included below. Note that, for target 10.2, which refers to economic, social and political inequalities, targets could be framed as achieving reductions in the gap in attainment/outcomes for different vulnerable groups/areas (Watkins, 2013). Reducing the gap in maternal mortality rates between slums and non-slum areas (or between better and worse performing authorities) could be an example of such an approach. This could provide incentives to reduce inequalities. Further, reducing inequalities between regions/territories needs equalisation mechanisms towards poorer areas (see below target 10.2) Target 10.1: By 2030 progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population at a rate higher than the national average (a) Dimensions to be measured: - Inequality of income (b) Proposed indicators: Proposed indicators 1. Palma Ratio (ratio of richest 10% of the urban population’s share of gross national income (GNI) divided by the poorest 40% of the population’s share)
2.
Percentage of urban households with incomes below 50% of median income (an indicator of inequality at the bottom of the income distribution, which acts as a cause of social exclusion and undermines equality of opportunity)
Possible alternative indicators GINI coefficient (UN Habitat calculates it for cities; see for example UN Habitat, CPI, 2014) the possibility of calculating it for regions could also be explored
Poverty rate in urban areas (UN Habitat, CPI, 2014): household per-capita (which is composed by the household labour income and the household non-labour income) income with a poverty line
Comments (Linkages, disaggregation and sources) Linkages: N/A Disaggregation by: Would need to be calculated for sub-national areas (rural/urban; cities; districts). Sources: Households surveys (disaggregation depends on sampling frame and survey size). Limitations: Would need to be developed for sub-national areas. International comparisons challenging. Linkages: N/A Disaggregation by: sex and age of household head, urban/rural locality (ethnicity, religion, language, disability, indigenous status should be reviewed). Would need to be calculated for these breakdowns and for sub-national areas (rural/urban; cities; districts). Sources: Household surveys. Limitations: Would need to be developed for sub-national areas. International comparisons challenging.
Comments: Some household surveys measure consumption, while others measure income. The mix makes international comparison difficult. It is useful to collect pure income based data. See Luxembourg Income Study. Surveys may not be representative at local level.