Editing Gini coefficient (section)

===Instantaneous inequality vs lifetime inequality===
The Gini coefficient is unable to discern the effects of structural changes in populations.<ref name=Kwok10 /> Expanding on the importance of life-span measures, the Gini coefficient as a point-estimate of equality at a certain time ignores life-span changes in income. Typically, increases in the proportion of young or old members of a society will drive apparent changes in equality simply because people generally have lower incomes and wealth when they are young than when they are old. Because of this, factors such as age distribution within a population and mobility within income classes can create the appearance of inequality when none exist, taking into account demographic effects. Thus a given economy may have a higher Gini coefficient at any timepoint compared to another, while the Gini coefficient calculated over individuals' lifetime income is lower than the apparently more equal (at a given point in time) economy's.{{Clarify|date=September 2022}}<ref name=blomq81>{{Cite journal |first=N. |last=Blomquist |s2cid=154519005 |year=1981 |title=A comparison of distributions of annual and lifetime income: Sweden around 1970 |journal=Review of Income and Wealth |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=243–264 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4991.1981.tb00227.x}}</ref> Essentially, what matters is not just inequality in any particular year but the distribution composition over time.