On Feb 6, 2008, at 9:26 AM, Bill Hoffman wrote:
> Apart from her use of "average" when "mean" would have been more
> accurate,
> and probably her intent, I'm wondering about the association of the
> relationship with wealth. What nations provide the counterexamples
> - for
> instance, where most people earn MORE than the mean income...
I doubt there are any such nations. E.g., an article by Lars Osberg ["Long-Run Trends in Income Inequality in the United States, UK, Sweden, Germany, and Canada: A Birth Cohort View," Eastern Economic Journal 29:1 (Winter 2003), pp. 121-141] reports median and mean incomes for five countries from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s (exact years vary, which is why the time periods are a little vague). Here's a summary table:
ratios of mean to median household incomes
early 70s mid 80s mid 90s Canada 1.10 1.10 1.11 US 1.11 1.14 1.18 UK 1.11 1.15 1.20 Sweden 1.03 1.03 1.05 Germany 1.10 1.10 1.11
Even Sweden shows a higher mean than median, though not by much. Note the stability in all countries except the U.S. and UK.
Doug