A Converging or Diverging World?

Bob Sutcliffe

Working Papers from United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs

Abstract: This paper discusses some of the problems of method and data in measuring world inequality. It describes some recent attempts to do so and produces its own estimates. There is no simple answer to the question of whether or not the world is becoming more unequal. If a variety of methods are employed and compared, a complex answer emerges, showing that inequality is both declining in some ways and increasing in others. However, there has clearly been an enormous, recent increase in the gap between the very rich and the very poor.

Keywords: world inequality; poverty; wealth; globalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 F (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2005-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-sea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:une:wpaper:2

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