BUSINESS MAVERICK OP-ED: Should we worry about income gaps within or between countries?

  • 📰 dailymaverick
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 51 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 24%
  • Publisher: 84%

Malaysia News News

Malaysia Malaysia Latest News,Malaysia Malaysia Headlines

BUSINESS MAVERICK OP-ED: Should we worry about income gaps within or between countries? By Dani Rodrik

Let’s narrow the focus to incomes and assume that people care only about their own consumption levels . “Rich” and “poor” are those in the top and bottom 5% of the income distribution, respectively. In a typical rich country, the poorest 5% of the population receive around 1% of national income. Data is a lot sparser for poor countries, but it would not be too much off the mark to assume that the richest 5% there receive 25% of national income.

Now, we can calculate that a rich person in a poor country has an income of $5,000 while a poor person in a rich country earns $13,000 . Measured by material living standards, a poor person in a rich country is more than twice as well off as a rich person in a poor country. The larger point of this comparison is to underscore the importance of income differences across countries, relative to inequalities within countries. At the dawn of modern economic growth, before the Industrial Revolution, global inequality derived almost exclusively from inequality within countries. Income gaps between Europe and poorer parts of the world were small.

Second, inequalities began to increase in many advanced economies, especially those with less-regulated labour markets and weak social protections. The rise in inequality in the United States has been so sharp that it is no longer clear that the standard of living of the American “poor” is higher than that of the “rich” in the poorest countries .

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in MY

Malaysia Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Malaysia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

BUSINESS MAVERICK OP-ED: Outgoing European Central Bank chief’s dangerous farewellMario Draghi risks deepening the eurozone’s problems in the final weeks of his eight-year term as president of the European Central Bank. He has promised that the bank will reduce interest rates further to spur the eurozone economy. But policymakers have room for only modest rate cuts, which will do little to boost growth – and will put potentially intolerable pressure on the eurozone’s fragile banks.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Business Maverick: China’s Stimulus Debate Is Still Alive After Grim Trade DataThe contraction in China’s trade in August underscored what economists were already saying about the government’s stimulus efforts: they’re not yet enough to put a floor under the slowing economy.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Business Maverick: Monday, September 9: Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your DayHong Kong’s violence continues despite concession, China’s exports tumble as tariffs bite, and Asian markets are set for a muted open Monday. Here’s what’s moving markets.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

BUSINESS MAVERICK ANALYSIS: Emerging markets given a reprieve ahead of central bank meetingsEmerging markets, including South Africa, have been lifted by the tentative return of risk appetite to global financial markets. But much will depend on developed market central bank monetary policy moves over the next couple of weeks. With expectations high, they have a lot to deliver if they don’t want to disappoint.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Maverick Citizen: Global Strike Countdown: The climate crisis is everybody’s businessIf the people of planet Earth, including the inhabitants of SA, see fit to rise to the call of Greta Thunberg and young people across the world, the global ClimateStrike planned for 20 September 2019 will make history. The strike’s focus is the UN Climate Action Summit taking place in New York from 21-23 September. A global strike is a world first, its demands are simple: that governments and the private sector act NOW to drastically reduce carbon emissions.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »