Jobs and Growth
Finance & Development
Who Let the Gini Out?
Income inequality is at historic highs. The richest 10 percent took home half of U.S. income in 2012, a division of spoils not seen in that country since the 1920s. In countries that belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, inequality increased more in the 3 years up to 2010 than in the preceding 12. The recent increases come on top of growing inequality for more than two decades in many advanced economies. Read More
Fiscal policy—or the way a government taxes, spends and borrows money—can have a huge impact on reducing inequality. But according to a recent IMF study, that impact has been shrinking over the past decade, as governments scale back social benefits, and make income taxes less progressive.
EVENTS
- Knowledge and Growth: Implications for Latin America by Ricardo Hausmann
December 6, 2013
- Women, Business and the Law by Augusto Lopez-Carlos and Sarah Iqbal
November 15, 2013
- Labor Market Shocks and Corporate Policies: Evidence from the Minimum-Wage Law Reform in China by Yi Huang
November 11, 2013
- Measuring Uncertainty by Serena Ng
November 1, 2013
- Policies for Growth and Jobs in Europe
October 10, 2013
REPORT
OECD:
Crisis squeezes income and puts pressure on inequality and poverty
The OECD’s report on income inequality, Divided We Stand (2011), documented that the gap between rich and poor in OECD countries had widened continuously over the three decades to 2008, reaching an all-time high. New OECD data show that the global economic crisis has squeezed incomes from work and capital in most countries.
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