Working Paper
How polarized is the global income distribution?
The interest in the level of global inequality has surged in recent years. This paper complements existing estimates of global inequality by providing the first estimates of the level of bipolarization of the global income distribution. During 1975...
Journal Article
How polarized is the global income distribution?
The interest in the level of global inequality has surged in recent years. This paper complements existing estimates of global inequality by providing the first estimates of the level of bipolarization of the global income distribution. During 1975...
Blog
Sunshine, elephants, and boomerangs: Is a dramatic rise in global income inequality looming?
by
Ravi Kanbur, Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez,
Andy Sumner
March 2022
Global Inequality 101: Global inequality is the distribution of income across all people on the planet from the poorest to the richest. It can be...
Blog
Report from the WIDER Development Conference on reducing inequality
For several decades, UNU-WIDER has actively worked on pathfinding and groundbreaking research on inequalities. We host one of the most extensive...
Blog
Reducing inequality — the great challenge of our time
by
Carlos Gradín
October 2022
Early in October 2022, international and Colombian researchers gathered together for three days at the UNIANDES campus, located at the foot of the...
Blog
Reducing inequality — why working together is no longer just an option
by
Koen Doens, Remy Rioux, Antón Leis,
Kunal Sen, Jean Van Wetter, Jürgen Zattler
March 2022
The time limit to reach the goals of the 2030 Agenda is now just eight years away. It is vital to pursue a new model of partnerships, based on...
Blog
Detecting global income inequality trends: And why it matters
by
Annalena Oppel
February 2021
More accurate estimates of inequality trends allow us to measure progress towards achieving reductions in inequality within and between countries...
Working Paper
Trends in global inequality using a new integrated dataset
This paper presents preliminary evidence of the annual global income distribution since 1950 using a new integrated dataset that aggregates standardized country income distributions at the percentile level estimated from various sources in the World...
Blog
Interview with Carlos Gradín on global inequality for the Conversation Weekly podcast
by
UNU-WIDER
January 2022
The following is an excerpt: mRNA vaccines, asteroid missions and collaborative robots: what to watch in science in 2022 – podcast Daniel Merino, The...
Working Paper
The global inequality boomerang
This paper focuses on the past and potential future evolution of income (or consumption) inequality in the world over the period 1981–2040. Inequality in the world has fallen by most common definitions since the late 1980s, and this is largely due to...
Journal Article
Is the era of declining global income inequality over?
This study examines the trajectory of global income inequality since 1981. Commonly used (relative) definitions indicate a decline in global inequality since the late 1980s. Looking ahead, it has been intuited that the influence of China's economic...
Working Paper
What might explain today’s conflicting narratives on global inequality?
How unequal is the world today? Is global income inequality falling, as many economists claim, or is it rising, as one often hears? This paper reviews the arguments and evidence. A number of concerns about the underlying data are identified, with...
Blog
In the Director's chair: Reflections on my first six months as Director
My first six months as Director of UNU-WIDER have been busy, enlightening, and rewarding. We’ve launched a new work programme, with flagship projects...
Working Paper
A proposal for a new universal development commitment
Most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries have accepted, in principle at least, the 50-year-old commitment of contributing 0.7 per cent of gross national income to supporting the development of countries in the Global...
Policy Brief
Is global inequality rising or falling?
When measured in relative terms, global inequality has been decreasing. However, in absolute terms it has been increasing. What does this mean for analysing and addressing inequality? While it remains vital to continue reducing the global incidence...