September 16, 2019
Username:
 In 2022-Income Inequality

Topic:
Country: Egypt
Delegate Name: Muskan Rekhani

United Nations Development Programme
Income Inequality
The Arab Republic of Egypt
Muskan Rekhani
Forest Hills Eastern

Income inequality is becoming an increasingly greater issue every year, and the United Nations must work together to dampen the problem. Factors that have created gaps in equity are region, age, gender, race, ethnicity, migrant status, and disability status. The United Nation’s goal is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10 of reducing inequalities by progressively achieving and sustaining income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population at a rate higher than the national average; ensuring equal opportunity and reducing inequalities of outcome; adopting policies, especially fiscal, wage, and social protection policies; and progressively achieving greater equality.

In The Arab Republic of Egypt, income inequality is statistically not a problem, but this only factors in national household surveys that collect detailed income and/or consumption data for a sample of households. Economic problems experienced by Egypt include a poverty rate of 27.9% and an unemployment rate of 7.4%. In specific, geographical inequality between rural and urban areas is a pressing issue. The wealthy live in urban areas while the poor live in rural areas. Economic success is reserved for the wealthy and not the majority. One from a disadvantaged family has almost one-tenth of the chance of getting into a university compared to an individual from an advantaged family. Additionally, taxes are worsening, and different wealth categories’ tax rates are evening out, which is more impactful to the poor. One step towards improvement that Egypt has made was spending over 6% of their GDP on fuel subsidies, which overall benefits the rich but also works to reduce unemployment.

The Arab Republic of Egypt urges the UN to examine housing prices for taxation and give back to the disadvantaged. This could come in the form of resources, financial aid, or education scholarships. Another policy Egypt urges the UN to enact is a Subsidy reform. This would mean increasing fuel service prices, so the government can produce large savings to give more resources to the poor. Lastly, schools are recommended to require more volunteering. In order for people with low income to increase their standard of living, they must be given the opportunity to save. If they spend all of their time and money on food and housing, they will be stuck in the endless cycle of poverty. If people are urged to volunteer at food shelter facilities, the government can use the funds from the other two policies to support more facilities.