other inequalities; precisely, UNICEF supports a multidimensional
approach to poverty, based not only on income poverty, but on
other deprivations like access to food, water, health, education,
shelter, information and others.^25
This paper: (i) provides an overview of global, regional and national
income inequalities based on the latest distribution data from the
World Bank, UNU-WIDER and Eurostat; (ii) discusses the
negative implications of rising income inequality for development;
(iii) calls for placing equity at the center of development in the
context of the United Nations development agenda; (iv) describes
the likelihood of inequalities being exacerbated during the global
economic crisis; and (v) advocates for urgent policy changes at
national and international levels to ensure a “Recovery for All.” To
serve as a general reference source, Annex 2 provides a summary of
the most up-do-date income distribution and inequality data for 141
countries.
- Income Inequality at the Global Level
How unequal is our world in terms of income distribution? Our
analysis of global inequality trends builds on earlier work by UNDP
(1992, 1999 and 2005), Bourguignon and Morrisson (2002),
Sutcliffe (2004) and Milanovic (2005). There are two common
approaches for estimating global income distribution—the global
and inter-country accounting models—and we estimate the results
using both typologies. We first present the results in terms of
market exchange rates and then discuss them under purchasing
power parity (PPP) exchange rates (see Box 1 for discussion on
income estimates and different exchange rates).
The purpose of this section is to provide a general picture as to how
global income inequality has likely evolved between 1990 and 2007
and not to enter into the theoretical debate that underpins the art
and science of distribution estimates, which involves, inter alia,
accounting models, income metrics and exchange rates. As a result,
(^25) UNICEF has produced an array of publications on different
inequalities/deprivations facing women, children and poor families. See
http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_43137.html.