CHILD POVERTY AND INEQUALITY: THE WAY FORWARD

make us question the current development approach (development

for whom?) and the need to place equity at the center of the

development agenda.

6.A. Striking the right balance between equity and growth

From an historical perspective, Maddison (2006) shows that the rise

of global GDP per capita over the past two centuries was largely

driven by the industrial revolution in Western Europe and the

United States along with a few countries that managed to position

themselves as strategic exporters (Table 14). The extraordinary

increase in GDP among these countries enabled them to become

hegemonic and influence global policy in their own interest (Gilpin

1987, Chang 2003, Reinert 2007). Many developing countries did

not grow as they could have in recent decades (Reddy and Minoui

2006). For developing countries to emerge, a similar employment-

intensive productive development push is needed, as well as an

international setting favorable to it.

Table 14. Per Capita GDP in Selected Countries and Regions, 1-2000*^

Country / Region 1 1000 1500 1600 1700 1820 1900 1950 2000

Main

Dri-

vers

W. Europe 599 425 798 907 1,032 1,243 3,076 5,018 20,090

United States 400 400 400 400 527 1,257 4,091 9,561 28,403

Australia 400 400 400 400 400 518 4,013 7 ,412 21,549

New Zealand ... 400 400 400 400 400 4,298 8,456 16,178

Argentina ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,756 4,987 8,544

Chile ... ... ... ... ... 694 2,194 3,670 10,311

Other

Reg-

ions

East Europe 412 400 496 548 606 683 1,438 2,111 5,901
Former USSR 400 400 499 552 610 688 1,237 2,841 4,454
Latin America 400 400 416 438 527 691 1,113 2,503 5,893
Asia 456 470 568 574 572 581 638 717 3,807
Africa 472 425 414 422 421 420 601 890 1,474
World Average 467 453 566 596 615 667 1,262 2,113 6,055
Source: Maddison (2006)

• In 1990 international Geary-Khamis dollars

An inclusive development agenda promoting employment and

universal social policies was a key ingredient to legitimizing

governments and nation building in the past. The late industrializers

(Box 3) followed this pattern: they implemented universal social

policies that ensured the buy-in of the middle classes and