Global inequality is lower today than last 140 years
Ineq increase hugely in 1800s bc industrialized world pulls away
Ineq decline as poor world (China, India) starts gaining
Gini: 0=no ineq, 1= total ineq
New, amazing data from @PikettyLeMonde & co
wid.world/document/longr…
Income development 1820-2020:
In China, per person income dropped from 82% of world average in 1820 down to 20% in 1980, before rising to 109% in 2020
In Indonesia, it dropped from 57% in 1820 to 16% in 1950, up to 68% in 2020
wid.world/document/longr…
What drives global inequality?
Blue line shows domestic inequality: high, but lower in 1950s-80s
Orange line shows inequality between nations: increase dramatically after rich world industrialization, decline after 1980 as poor world is gaining again
wid.world/document/longr…
Who gained the most in the last 40 years of growth:
Much of the world's poor
The very richest
The relative losers were the lower and middle-classes in rich and middle-income countries (jobs outsourced)
wid.world/document/longr…
Who gained in income over the last 200 years?
Relatively: the world's top 30% (the first to industrialize, OECD)
Absolute: everyone got to be much, much better off — even the worst saw their incomes >5x
wid.world/document/longr…
Definition of global inequality treats entire world as one:
Just like inequality in, say, the US places all US individuals from lowest to highest income
Global inequality places all citizens from every nation from lowest to highest income
(see: gabriel-zucman.eu/files/teaching…)
It is a great data paper collating an immense amount of data to help us get a clearer view on incomes over the past 200 years
Cudos to Chancel & Piketty
(but take their 1800s industrialization powered by exploitation of 3rd world with grains of salt)
wid.world/document/longr…
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