Answer to Question 1
The World Bank uses as its measure of income inequality what is known
as the Gini coefficient, which ranges from zero (meaning that everyone
has the same income) to 100 (one person receives all the income). Using
this measure, the World Bank has concluded that inequality has
increased in nations such as Bulgaria, the Baltic countries, and the Slavic
countries of the former Soviet Union to levels similar to those in the less-
equal industrial market economies, such as the United States. Stark
contrasts also exist in countries such as India, where abject poverty still
exists side by side with lavish opulence in Calcutta. Similar disparities
between the rich and the poor can be seen in other nations. For example,
in Haiti, starvation and disease are a way of life for most inhabitants. As
the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti's ability to feed
people has been further reduced by the 2010 earthquake.
Answer to Question 2
a