– Mississippi has similar GDP per capita ($53061) than Germany ($54291) and the UK ($51075), so why are people in Mississippi so much poorer with a much lower living standard?

Question

I was surprised to learn that poor states like Mississippi have about the same gdp per capita as rich developed countries. How can this be true? Why is there such a different standard of living?

In: Economics

Answer 1

> so why are people in Mississippi so much poorer with a much lower living standard?

That’s not even true. 19.6% of Mississippians live below the United States’ poverty live, and 14.8% of Germans live below Germany’s poverty line.

Mississippians are not “so much poorer” than Germans, the difference isn’t as great as you are suggesting.