[Peace-discuss] Fwd: New Global Inequality Report- The Global Divide

[Margaret E. Kosal]

The full text, with a detailed list of primary data references(!), of "The 
Global Divide" is available as a pdf document on the CCPA 
website:  http://www.policyalternatives.ca

>+++++++++
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>APRIL 18, 2002
>      New CCPA report highlights inequality in the global economy
>(Ottawa) A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
>sheds some light on the pressing issue of inequality in the global
>economy. The report, The Global Divide, comes as officials gather in
>Washington this weekend to discuss topics such as global poverty at
>the semi-annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the
>World Bank.
>
>"When countless politicians and business gurus are telling us that we
>live in a global village," said author Marc Lee, "then we have to
>look at how the income pie in that village is sliced, and it is not a
>pretty picture."
>
>The report finds that inequality is both extremely large and has been
>growing, especially over the past two decades. In 1970, the top 20
>percent of the world™s people in the richest countries earned 32
>times the income of the bottom 20 percent. This grew to 45 times in
>1980, to 59 times in 1989, and to 74 times by 1997.
>
>This, however, only captures the growth in inequality between
>countries, and a true picture of global inequality must also consider
>the growing gap within countries. The report draws on research done
>for the World Bank that finds that, while the top 10 percent of the
>world™s people increased their share of world income to 51 percent in
>1993, the poorest have been losing ground. In 1993, the bottom half
>of the world™s population received a mere 8.5 percent of world
>income, down from 9.6 percent in 1988.
>
>The report finds that IMF and World Bank policies of liberalization,
>privatization and deregulation have been significant contributors to
>the rise in global inequality. For many of the poorest countries, these
>policies have been forced on them by the IMF and World Bank in order
>to get  access to loans.
>"The good news is that the plight of the world™s poor is being
>discussed at the highest levels," says Lee. "The bad news is that the
>cure emanating from these discussions too often resembles the
>disease."
>
>The full text of The Global Divide is available on the CCPA website:
>www.policyalternatives.ca. For more information or to arrange an
>interview, please contact: Marc Lee 604-801-6920 Kerri-Anne Finn 613-
>563-1341 x. 306