How does the United States compare with the countries listed in Table 10-4 with respect to its share of income to the poorest 20 percent of the population? Does the comparison surprise you? Prosperous countries have greater means to ensure equitable income distribution, but this greater capacity does not mean that they choose to do so.

TABLE 10-4 Share of Total Income to the Poorest 20 Percent of the Population, from Lowest Share to Highest Share, Selected Countries, 2007 Country Share (%) Namibia 1.5 Bolivia 1.8 Angola 2.0 Colombia 2.3 Haiti 2.5 Honduras 2.5 Panama 2.5 Brazil 3.0 South Africa 3.1 Zimbabwe 4.6 China 5.7 Burkina Faso 7.0 Vietnam 7.1 Laos 8.5 India 8.1 Egypt 9.0 Pakistan 9.1 Ethiopia 9.3 Bangladesh 13.3 "Several countries use expenditure data rather than income. This generally understates income inequality. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2009 (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2009).