I have been collecting data to write about Inequality for long time. No one can argue that Inequality is not a central issue in Development and Humanitarian work. In fact is also central in moral and politics. In the last years, the trends show that we, as a world, are not yet going in the right direction.
While occupied in my reflections I happened to watch this wonderful TED Video of Richard Wilkison Co-director of Equality Trust which is a UK based institution working to promote equality. The central argument in their book “The Spirit Level” is that equality is better for everyone.
The video starts with a very provocative statement, if we look at the relationship between life expectancy and GDP per capita among different countries (the study focused on rich countries) there is no correlation, but if we do the same analysis within a specific country there is a huge correlation. Something similar happens with a set of social indicators or with the UNICEF indicator of Child Well Being, the performance of those indicators have little to do with the GDP per capita, but has a lot to do with inequality within a given a country. The more unequal the country the worse the performance of such indicators.
We can also observe what happens in the more unequal countries with mental illness, violence, people in prison, trust or social mobility and we clearly will arrive to the evident conclusion, equality is not only morally desirable is also the needed condition for a better life in a better society.
Enjoy the Video.
Fran Equiza
Understanding Inequality is critical. The example of Brazil over the last two decades shows that growth need not always result in inequality or deepening of poverty. Brazil continues to grow at modest rates, has halved number of people living in absolute poverty and shown significant improvements in the Gini coefficient.
Have a look at this report from The Economist (http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/11/focus?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/dc/brazil)
Interesting that the emerging economies (BRICS) are also making strides on gender equality..
Interesting article : http://ideas.time.com/2011/10/24/is-a-woman-in-brazil-better-off-than-a-woman-in-the-u-s/