Real income in the context of "Measured"

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⭐ Core Definition: Real income

Real income is the income of individuals or nations after adjusting for inflation. It is calculated by dividing nominal income by the price level. Real variables such as real income and real GDP are variables that are measured in physical units, while nominal variables such as nominal income and nominal GDP are measured in monetary units. Therefore, real income is a more useful indicator of well-being since it measures the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with the income. Growth of real income is related to real gross national income per capita growth.

According to the classical dichotomy theory, real variables and nominal variables are separate in the long run, so they are not influenced by each other. In other words, if the nominal starting income was 100 and there was 10% inflation (general rise in prices, for example, what cost 10 now costs 11), then with nominal income of still 100, one can buy roughly 9% less; so if nominal income was not adjusted for inflation (did not rise by 10%), real income has dropped by approximately 9%. But if the classical dichotomy holds, nominal income will eventually go up by 10%, leaving real income unchanged from its original value.

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Real income in the context of List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita

Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita).

Gross domestic product per capita is often used as a proxy indicator an indicator of a country's standard of living; however, this is inaccurate because GDP per capita is not a measure of personal income and does not take into account social and environmental costs and benefits. Measures of personal income include average wage, real income, median income, disposable income and gross national income (GNI) per capita.

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Real income in the context of Cost of living crisis

A cost-of-living crisis is a socioeconomic situation or period of high inflation where nominal wages have stagnated while there is a sharp increase in the cost of basic goods, such as food, housing, and energy. As a result, living standards are squeezed to the point that people cannot afford the standard of living that they were previously accustomed to. Public health is threatened. The population becomes 'poorer' than it used to be in real terms. This is in contrast to a situation in which wages are rising to meet the rate of inflation and workers' standard of living remains unchanged.

During the 2020s, a cost-of-living crisis impacted many countries around the world amid global inflation. In February 2023, 3 out of 4 consumers globally were worried about the rising cost of everyday expenses. The Big Issue defines a cost of living crisis as "a situation in which the cost of everyday essentials like groceries and bills are rising faster than average household incomes". Change in average real incomes can be measured by real GNI per capita change.

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