Concern at IMF meeting over imbalanced world economy

Concern at IMF meeting over imbalanced world economy
By Euronews
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

Income inequality in industrialised countries is now at its highest level in 50 years

ADVERTISEMENT

Concern about an increasingly imbalanced world economy is being raised at the IMF Spring Meetings in Washington.

Income inequality in industrialised countries is now at its highest level in 50 years, according to the OECD.

The average pay of the top ten percent of earners is now almost ten times that of the poorest 10 percent across the OECD.

Angel Gurria, the OECD’s Secretary General, told euronews:
“Yes, there is a sense of urgency, yes there is a sense of the need to address the issues. And more and more there is a shared conviction that these are economically inconvenient and politically unsustainable issues, and therefore they have to be addressed.”

Experts say the financial crisis has only added urgency to the need to address the issue by promoting better education and training possibilities.

Axel Kicillof, the Argentinian Finance Minister, told euronews:
“When you combat inequality and you put money in the sectors that are with less income, you have as results not only more welfare for them, but also macro-economically speaking more demand.”

Euronews’ Stefan Grobe reported:
“As John F. Kennedy used to say: A rising economic tide lifts all boats. But in today’s reality, only yachts go up whereas too many rafts remain stuck in the mud.”

OECD</a> sec gen Gurria chats with <a href="https://twitter.com/euronews">euronewsStefanGrobe1</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/inequality?src=hash">#inequality</a> - you can watch it today in 14 languages! <a href="http://t.co/BJvlRqZifJ">pic.twitter.com/BJvlRqZifJ</a></p>&mdash; Miguel R Gorman (DCMig) April 18, 2015

Share this articleComments

You might also like

European Union announces €7.4 billion package of aid for Egypt

Investing in women and girls: Is gender parity the key to economic prosperity?

Bitcoin stock surpasses €55,000 mark