Published on Oxfam America’s Politics of Poverty blog
What is shared prosperity, and how do we know if it’s on the rise?
This blog post is an adaptation of Nick’s recent article in Global Policy.
The World Bank has chosen an indicator of shared prosperity that’s inadequate, and gives a distorted picture of progress. According to the Bank’s indicator, countries where the poorest forty percent are faring better than the country average are considered to be experiencing shared prosperity. Yet, comparing the poorest to the average masks whether income and wealth are concentrating among the very rich at the top. Given what we know about the dangers of extreme inequality, the Bank’s indicator is not only misleading, but irresponsible. Continue reading