The latest OECD publication discusses 30 years of liberal discourse: the Washington consensus shatters: growth is a necessary condition for reducing inequality but it is not sufficient
The report, entitled " Growth Unequal " economic growth over the past 20 years has benefited the wealthy more than the poor . In some countries, including Germany, Canada, the United States, Finland, Italy and Norway, the gap also widened between the rich and the middle class.
countries where the income range is wide generally experience greater poverty. Moreover, social mobility is less important in countries with high inequality, including the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom, whereas in the Nordic countries, where incomes are distributed more equitably, there is more social mobility.
Launching the report in Paris, the Secretary General of OECD, Angel Gurria, has warned against the problems caused by inequality and stressed the need for governments to tackle it. " Growing inequality is a germ of division. It polarizes societies, it creates a divide between countries and regions in the world a hollow gulf between rich and poor. Rising inequality Income blocking the "social elevator," the talented people working hard getting more difficult the rewards they deserve. It is not possible to ignore these growing inequalities. "
The number of low skilled and poorly educated unemployed is one of the main causes of income inequality. Another factor is the increasing number of people living alone and single parent families.
Some social groups have been more fortunate than others. The population is close to retirement age had the largest Strong revenue growth in the last 20 years and poverty has declined among pensioners in many countries. In contrast, child poverty has increased. (According to the OECD definition, there is poverty when every member of a household has an income below half the median income, adjusted for family size).
For children and young adults, the likelihood of poverty is now 25% higher than the general population. The likelihood of poverty for single parent households are three times higher than the average population. However, the OECD countries spend three times more on family policy 20 years ago.
In developed countries, governments have increased taxes and spending more on social benefits to offset the trend towards more inequality. According to the report, would have exacerbated inequalities faster without these expenses.
As argued by Mr. Gurría, we must address this problem otherwise. "Although taxes and transfers are important in many OECD countries to redistribute income and reduce poverty, our data confirm the loss of effectiveness over the past decade. Wanting to fill gaps in income distribution solely by an increase in social spending amounts to treating symptoms and not the disease. "
" If inequality has increased, it is largely because of the changes that have occurred on the job market. This is where governments must act. Low-skilled workers face increasing difficulties in finding employment. Increasing employment is the best way to reduce poverty, "said Mr Gurría.
Improving education is also an excellent way to achieve growth in the long run, benefits all, not just the elite, this is one of the findings of the report. In the short term, countries should take more effective measures to ensure that their people are employed and that working families receive benefits that increase their wage income, rather than relying on unemployment benefits, disability and early retirement
Key elements of the report
Income gaps have widened over the past two decades in most OECD countries. In the current context of a changing global economy means that more people may be left behind. According to the Secretary General Angel Gurria, "Ensuring that growth benefits everyone, not just the rich, is the task we must undertake." Governments should not remain spectators: they should respond to income inequality with policies that help people cope.
Why the gap between rich and poor is widening there?
In most countries the gap is growing because rich households fared significantly better than the households of the middle class and poor households. changes in the structure of the population and the labor market over the past 20 years have contributed greatly to this inequality.
- The salaries of those who were already well paid have increased.
- The employment rate for people with a lower educational level decreased.
- And the number of households with one adult and one family is growing.
What can we do?
In some cases, government policies on taxation and redistribution of income have helped to fight against inequality. But this can not be the only answer. Public authorities should also improve their policies in other areas.
- Education policies should aim to equip people with the skills they need in the current job market.
- active employment policies are needed to help the unemployed find work.
- Access to paid employment is key to reducing the risk of poverty, but getting a job is not necessarily enough to be free. The study Growing Unequal shows that over half of the households concerned by poverty there is at least a share of income from work.
- policies related benefits of employment to assist families of assets that have difficulty accessing a standard of living by supplementing their income. In addition
| Did You Know? (Income inequality)
[Table 11.1. Evolution of income inequality and poverty ] [Chart 1.1. Gini coefficients of income inequality in OECD countries, mid 2000s ] [Table 1.1. and Table 1.2. Evolution of real household income by quintiles, Gains and losses and income shares by income quintile ] | Did You Know? (Poverty)
[Table 5.2. Poverty Rate children and persons living in households with children by household characteristics ] [Chart 5.8. poverty rate and employment in the mid-2000s ]
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| Data on income distribution and poverty, Gapminder English only for now, Charts Gapminder allow interactions between the data on income distribution and poverty with time. You can select the flag of your choice on each axis and the bubble size represents a third indicator. You can then click on PLAY. You can also select the country (ies) of your choice and compare the results. | Gapminder Graph by default: OECD countries have the poverty rate they are willing to pay? At the other extreme, the United States, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, benefits accounted for 2%, if not less, national income, and 12 to 15% of the working age population were affected by poverty. It would be easy to conclude that countries have the poverty rate is based on what they are willing to pay. Mexico and Turkey, higher tax revenues - which would allow expansion of social programs - would likely reduce inequality and poverty. But for most OECD countries, the answer is more complex ... | |
The gap between rich and poor widened and the number of people living below the poverty line has increased over the last two decades. Evolution is quite widespread, affecting three quarters of OECD countries. The magnitude of change is limited but significant.
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