A Comprehensive Interpretation of Income Statistics

Sen argues that the amount of income and wealth in a society fails to reflect the success and deprivation of a country. He proposes that in order to view such statistics accurately it is essential to be mindful of an all-enticing perspective. I would like to first summarize Sen’s stance on poverty and inequality within the light of income distribution statistics. Then I will elaborate and propose new opinions and ideas to Sen’s discussion on the irrelevant correlation between income and mortality. To support his claim of income distribution statistics failing to represent crucial issues and reasons for certain issues in a society, such as unemployment, Sen claims, “Unemployment is not merely a deficiency of income that can be made up through transfers by the state… Among its manifold effects, unemployment contributes to the ‘social exclusion’ of some groups, and it leads to losses of self-reliance, self-confidence, and psychological and physical health” (21). Here Sen stresses the result of “social exclusion” from unemployment. Social exclusion is an aspect of income unrevealed by income statistics. The specific exclusion Sen brings attention to, allows for a society to develop a mentality of “self-help.” A society with this mentality can create a whirlwind of problems. Too much independence may result in great superiority, miscommunication, and lost relationships. How could income statistics alone bring this issue to light? By viewing income through a broader perspective we as a collective society may be able to identify any disadvantages from “social exclusion” and prevent them from worsening before they become more integrated in our society and thus harder to resolve.

Nevertheless, I would like to shift gears a bit and expand on Sen’s discussion of income and mortality. I was surprised to realize how African Americans have “a lower chance of reaching advanced ages than do people born in the immensely poorer economies of China or the Indian state of Kerala” (21). Statistical information on income underrepresents the well being of a society. It is interesting how the greater income of African Americans in comparison to that of the Chinese, does not correlate to the longer life people in foreign societies often live. To a certain extent I believe this result serves as significant evidence to how money does not buy happiness. While greater income allows for individuals to have access to more goods, such may not always entitle beneficial results like a longer life span. Thus, I wonder if a greater value of religion and specific customs contribute to living longer. Could the desire to achieve more wealth provoke stress among individuals thus affecting one’s health and reducing one’s life span? Could this mean that we must cease to put so much emphasis on income levels to well being? Consider investment banking. Investment bankers make significant amounts of money each year. Yet, they spend long hours working and sacrifice their life for more wealth. Is one’s life worth the giving up spending time with family and risking one’s overall health? Income statistics surely fails to represent such consequences.