Global Inequality : From Class to Location, from Proletarians to Migrants
Inequality between world citizens in mid-19th century was such that at least a half of it could be explained by income differences between workers and capital-owners in individual countries. Real income of workers in most countries was similar and...
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110929082257 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3583 |
| Summary: | Inequality between world citizens in
mid-19th century was such that at least a half of it could
be explained by income differences between workers and
capital-owners in individual countries. Real income of
workers in most countries was similar and low. This was the
basis on which Marxism built its universal appeal. More than
150 years later, in the early 21st century, the situation
has changed fundamentally: more than 80 percent of global
income differences is due to large gaps in mean incomes
between countries, and unskilled workers' wages in rich
and poor countries often differ by a factor of 10 to 1. This
is the basis on which a new global political issue of
migration has emerged because income differences between
countries make individual gains from migration large. The
key coming issue will be how to deal with this challenge
while acknowledging that migration is probably the most
powerful tool for reducing global poverty and inequality. |
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