Development of the modern concept of regulation of socio-economic inequality of households

Abstract

Socio-economic inequality is a global problem that, in one way or another, affects any country. High inequality is a threat to the sustainability of democratic institutions and economic growth. That is why a large number of scholars have been drawing attention to this problem for the past couple of decades, during which the overall level of socio-economic inequality has grown both globally and within countries. Are the efforts that regulators are making today enough to contain the rise of socio-economic inequality, and is everything that is being done correct conceptually? These issues have been very relevant over the past few years. The aim of this research is to analyse and develop the concept of a state regulation of socio-economic inequality on a global scale in the UN Sustainable Development Goals program and in Russia at the level of strategic planning documents. The research method is the analysis and synthesis of information from the UN sustainable development program and strategic planning documents for the socio-economic development of Russia. The author has revealed that the goal and concept of regulating socio-economic inequality at the UN level and in Russia are asymmetric relative to the household income distribution curve and have a noticeable shift to its left end. Combating and reducing poverty is a key priority in the regulation of socio-economic inequality in the world. At the same time, the regulation of inequality at the right end of the income distribution curve and the clear state policy of optimizing the growth rate of income and wealth of the richest households are absent or poorly represented in strategic planning documents. As recommendations, the author proposes to use and develop the concept of regulating socio-economic inequality based on Francois Bourguignon’s “poverty - economic growth - inequality” theory.