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Recent decades have witnessed a rising interest in the measurement of inequality from a multidimensional perspective. This literature has however remained largely theoretical. This chapter presents an empirical application of a recent methodology and in doing so offers practical insights on how multidimensional inequality can be measured over two attributes (wealth and health) in the developing country context. Following Abul Naga and Geoffard (2006), a methodological framework allowing the decomposition of multidimensional inequality into two univariate Atkinson–Kolm–Sen equality indices and a third term measuring the association between the attributes is implemented. The methodology is then illustrated using data from the World Health Surveys 2002–2003. Specifically, this study presents the first comparative analysis on multidimensional inequality for a set of Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. Results reveal that the multidimensional (in-)equality indices tend to mimic the (in-)equality ordering of the wealth distributions as the latter are always less equally distributed than health. An empirical conclusion that emerges is that reducing the correlation between the attributes may help to reduce overall welfare inequality, specifically when socioeconomic inequality in health is pro-poor. The finding that the correlation between attributes has a significant contribution in the quantification of inequality has important policy implications since it reveals that it is not only wealth and health inequalities per se that matter in the measurement of welfare inequality but also the associations between them.

This paper aims to extend the Shapley value (SV) into a discussion of Zakat, a Pillar of Islam. Lloyd Shapley was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2012. This study shows that their relationship is significant for all nations, that of levelling up. An important but neglected paper by Datta (1939) showed insights provided by the Power Law, or as it is sometimes called, the Pareto distribution, into the role of Zakat in raising the income of all above the subsistence level. The Pareto distribution describes the prevailing tendency. The SV illustrates the interdependence perspective of Zakat with the Pareto distribution, wealth, income and poverty. Payoffs apply equally to both givers and receivers. For this study’s purposes, payoffs are considered as transferable utilities. They are formed by individuals who willingly cooperate in society rather than atomistic individuals who act independently. Zakat represents the recognition that society needs to be cooperative rather than individualistic; people cooperate in groups or societies to create value. SV implications and axioms are evaluated with an illustration.

This study extends Datta’s approach by introducing distribution weights into the SV. The authors set out the concept of weighted Shapley values that retain the elements of randomness and marginal contribution to a coalition contained in pure/true SVs and weights that follow a ley-Pareto distribution. This paper is a viewpoint work that relies primarily on the author’s qualitative interpretation.

The findings indicate that individual members of a coalition make multiple contributions that are often unrewarded. The contribution of one member of a coalition is dependent upon the contribution of others. The measure of contributions is payoffs, which have both monetary and non-monetary aspects; transferable payoffs or utilities are usually assumed. Furthermore, the significant agents in society or an organisation are stakeholders rather than the usual categories: managers, staff, shareholders, etc.

Contextualising these concepts within the Islamic values and principles that guide Zakat administration is crucial to ensure that the distribution of Zakat funds is fair, equitable and meets the needs of all eligible recipients. By applying these concepts appropriately, Zakat administrators can ensure that the Zakat system functions effectively and fulfils its religious obligation.

The novelty of this paper is that it blends the SV and the idea behind Zakat by introducing the idea of alternatives of Shapley weights. The link between the institution of Zakat and SV in terms of equality, poverty elimination and wealth distribution should be at the top of the research agenda.

This study uses the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) econometric approach to investigate empirically the effects of cryptocurrencies, the gold standard and traditional fiat money on global income inequality measured based on the Gini coefficient, and various ratios of income inequality distribution such as top 1 per cent, top 10 per cent, top 40 per cent and top 50 per cent.

The study uses the ARDL econometric approach.

The findings indicated that cryptocurrency and gold standard monetary systems contributed significantly to reducing global inequality of income and wealth distribution. Conversely, the traditional fiat money system contributes positively to global income and wealth inequality while also contributing significantly to their fluctuation.

This suggests that the fiat monetary system results in the coercive redistribution of income and wealth if governments pursue a social welfare policy. They must resolve this conflict between the current fiat monetary system and social policy by opting for an alternative monetary system such as cryptocurrency or gold standard. These alternative monetary systems offer the promise of resolving the income and wealth inequality associated with the traditional monetary system which are accompanied with the channels of inflation, lack of financial inclusion and debt creation, and to offer a more sustainable financial system.

The study recommends that monetary policy must be revisited to account for its direct effect on income and wealth redistribution to achieve social welfare goals.

It is well established that Black and Hispanic workers accumulate leszs wealth for retirement than white workers. This study provides evidence on whether racial and ethnic differences in private pension coverage and benefit levels contribute to the wealth differentials. Using data from the Current Population Survey, Survey of Consumer Finances and the Health and Retirement Survey, several consistent findings emerge. First, most of the racial and ethnic differences in pension benefit levels are accounted for by differences in worker charateristics. Second, among workers who are covered by a private pension, racial and ethnic differences in pension asset accumulation are quite small. Finally, exclusion of pension wealth has a small effect on the comparison of average levels of wealth across racial and ethnic groups, but has a substantial effect for comparisons at the bottom of the wealth distribution. Overall, the findings suggest that, holding worker characteristics constant, minority and majority workers accumulate very similar levels of wealth.

The privatization of State Owned Enterprises (SOE) has significant implications for SOE stakeholders. However, the effects on stakeholders will vary depending on characteristics of the privatization process and the structure of the SOE. This paper identifies privatization process characteristics of wealth creation and wealth distribution, and describes SOE structures on a continuum between government corporation and government agency. The privatization effectiveness for stakeholders is discussed and examples provided for each classification of privatization.

This paper aims to re-evaluate and thus recommends possible ways in improving the current practice of hibah trust in Malaysia.

This study conducts a thorough and critical review on relevant literature on Islamic wealth management and estate distribution. Besides, the current practice and application of hibah trust by the Malaysian trustee companies such as Amanah Raya Berhad and As-Salihin Trustee Berhad is analyzed based on information gathered from their publications and direct consultation.

Based on the comparison made between hibah trust and its conventional counterpart, living trust, this study found that that the hibah trust product mirrors the conventional living trust, which provides a high degree of freedom to the benefactor to decide on the distribution of his wealth without taking into consideration the interest of the eligible heirs under farai’d. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the practice of hibah trust would be able to expedite the lengthy and complex procedures of inheritance, reduce administrative costs and avoid legal impediments and inheritance tax.

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for an improved asset distribution under hibah trust within the Malaysian Islamic wealth management industry by highlighting the significance of fara’id and wasiyyah rules. This proposed framework of hibah trust would become a useful reference for the policy makers in designing a dedicated regulation or legal provisions in the established laws that will govern the practice of hibah trust in Malaysia.

The novelty of this paper lies in highlighting the importance of adhering to the law of Islamic inheritance rules as ordained by Allah s.w.t in structuring contemporary Islamic estate planning instruments such as hibah trust, which is not evident in the current practice.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the dilemma of exponential growth in economic policy and its implications on sustainable development.

The future of the world economy is premised in part on the assumption of an implicit law of increasing returns that has remained unchanged for centuries. Drawing on current data in per capita gross domestic product and population data, this paper explores the relationship between growth in populations and the distribution of wealth. Implications on economic and social policy reform are discussed, with an exemplar focus on economic incentives employed in several nations that are premised on an assumed relationship between population growth and economic return.

This paper demonstrates that much of current economic and social policy is grounded in centuries-old assumptions that may be inadequate for today's highly interrelated global and economic society, and that changing these policies would require a fundamental shift of mindset to recognise domestic human values within a global context.

Previous literature has paid less attention to the underlying assumptions of perpetual growth inherent to social and economic policy and the practicalities of its reconceptualization on global society.

In the wake of the Stiglitz Commission, we assess German economic well-being by considering income, wealth and consumption. A decomposition approach is used to test for corresponding inequality differences of these well-being dimensions. Total inequality is decomposed into within- and between-group inequality (via a normalised coefficient of variation). The decompositions are categorised into those that refer to socio-demographic characteristics (place of residence, age, household type) and those belonging to different well-being (sub-)categories (potential and net income, expenditure and wealth categories). The empirical analyses are performed for Germany using the 2008 German Sample Survey of Income and Expenditure. By decomposing German well-being inequality in great detail, we shed light on its dimensions. Our analyses illustrate that it is necessary to consider all well-being dimensions to make statements about the material well-being of private households or individuals.

The purpose of this paper is to aim at taking a closer look at the decline in the inequality of the distribution of four health variables, infant and child mortality, child stunting and underweight, that took place in various Southeast Asian countries during the past 25 years. More specifically its goal is to check the extent to which this decline in health inequality, as well as the overall reduction in infant and child mortality, in child stunting and underweight, affected the poorest wealth quintile of the population of these countries.

In the first part of the paper the author presents a systematic comparison of the values taken by various consistent measures of the inequality of health attainments and shortfalls for several countries in Southeast Asia and for four health indicators: infant mortality, child mortality, child stunting and underweight. The second part of the paper uses the concept of Shapley decomposition to determine the respective impacts of the decrease in the average value of these health variables and in the inequality of their distribution on the reduction observed for each of these variables in the lowest wealth quintile.

During the period examined there was an important decline infant and child mortality as well as in child stunting and underweight in all countries of Southeast Asia for which data were available. As far as the poorest wealth quintile is concerned this decline was mostly the consequence of the overall decline in these health variables rather than to the reduction of the inequality of their distribution.

Data were available for only four health variables and for many countries data were available for only one period.

A decline in health inequality should be considered as an important aspect of poverty reduction.

Development should not be limited to its economic components. A broader view of development is indispensable.

This study is probably one of the first ones to provide the reader with data on the reduction in health inequality in Southeast Asia as well as on the impact of this decline on the poorest wealth quintile.

“It should also be noted that the objective of convergence and equal distribution, including across under-performing areas, can hinder efforts to generate growth. Contrariwise, the objective of competitiveness can exacerbate regional and social inequalities, by targeting efforts on zones of excellence where projects achieve greater returns (dynamic major cities, higher levels of general education, the most advanced projects, infrastructures with the heaviest traffic, and so on). If cohesion policy and the Lisbon Strategy come into conflict, it must be borne in mind that the former, for the moment, is founded on a rather more solid legal foundation than the latter” European Commission (2005, p. 9)Adaptation of Cohesion Policy to the Enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Objectives.