Worlds apart : measuring international and global inequality
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Worlds apart : measuring international and global inequality
Princeton University Press, c2005
Available at 21 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [213]-221) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
We are used to thinking about inequality within countries - about rich Americans versus poor Americans, for instance. But, what about inequality between all citizens of the world? "Worlds Apart" addresses just how to measure global inequality among individuals, and shows that inequality is shaped by complex forces often working in different directions. Branko Milanovic, a top World Bank economist, analyzes income distribution worldwide using, for the first time, household survey data from more than 100 countries. He evenhandedly explains the main approaches to the problem, offers a more accurate way of measuring inequality among individuals, and discusses the relevant policies of first-world countries and nongovernmental organizations. Inequality has increased between nations over the last half century (richer countries have generally grown faster than poorer countries). And yet, the two most populous nations, China and India, have also grown fast. But, over the past two decades, inequality within countries has increased. As complex as reconciling these three data trends may be, it is clear: the inequality between the world's individuals is staggering.
At the turn of the twenty-first century, the richest 5 percent of people receive one-third of total global income, as much as the poorest 80 percent. While a few poor countries are catching up with the rich world, the differences between the richest and poorest individuals around the globe are huge and likely growing.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii Prologue: The Promise of the Twentieth Century 1 Introduction: A Topic Whose Time Has Come 3 PART I: SETTING THE STAGE Chapter 1: The Three Concepts of Inequality Defined 7 Chapter 2: Other Differences between the Concepts 12 Chapter 3: International and World Inequality Compared 20 PART II: INEQUALITY AMONG COUNTRIES Chapter 4: Rising Differences in Per Capita Incomes 31 Chapter 5: Regional Convergence, Divergence, or ... "Vergence" 45 Chapter 6: The Shape of International GDP Per Capita Distribution 51 Chapter 7: Winners and Losers: Increasing Dominance of the West 61 PART III: GLOBAL INEQUALITY Chapter 8: Concept 2 Inequality: Decreasing in the Past Twenty Years 85 Chapter 9: High Global Inequality: No Trend? 101 Chapter 10: A World without a Middle Class 128 PART IV: CONCLUDING COMMENTS Chapter 11: The Three Concepts of Inequality in Historical Perspective 139 Chapter 12: Why Does Global Inequality Matter and What to Do about It? 149 Appendixes 1-7 163 Notes 195 References 213 Index of Authors 223 Index of Subjects 225
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