<p>Has there been any scholarship done on the proportion of producers producing high-end vs low-end goods? This could also be framed as the proportion of economic activity generated by wealth excess of a certain amount per person. Or is there a better way to understand this issue? </p>

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2017-09-29T21:11:50.557Z
Good question, but I think it's almost impossible to answer satisfactorily. Many if not most of workers do not produce final goods but intermediate or primary goods, which are used in a variety of final goods (e.g. a tomato producer sells to both high-end restaurants and supermarkets). There are also important conceptual issues with differentiating between necessary and luxury goods. Is a smartphone or a sandwich in the cornershop a luxury good? Is education a necessary good? And a long etc.
luchonacho
<reference-request><labor-economics><inequality>
How many of the world's workers are producing luxury vs necessary goods?
eev
# How many of the world's workers are producing luxury vs necessary goods?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-29)

Has there been any scholarship done on the proportion of producers producing high-end vs low-end goods? This could also be framed as the proportion of economic activity generated by wealth excess of a certain amount per person. Or is there a better way to understand this issue?

**Tags:** reference-request, labor-economics, inequality

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Good question, but I think it's almost impossible to answer satisfactorily. Many if not most of workers do not produce final goods but intermediate or primary goods, which are used in a variety of final goods (e.g. a tomato producer sells to both high-end restaurants and supermarkets). There are also important conceptual issues with differentiating between necessary and luxury goods. Is a smartphone or a sandwich in the cornershop a luxury good? Is education a necessary good? And a long etc.  

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