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Globalization, poverty, and inequality since 1980

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  • Dollar, David

Abstract

One of the most contentious issues of globalization is the effect of global economic integration on inequality and poverty. This paper documents five trends in the modern era of globalization, starting around 1980. Trend #1: Poor country growth rates have accelerated and are higher than rich country growth rates - for the first time in modern history. The developing world economy grew at more than 3.5 percent per capita in the 1990s. Trend #2: The number of poor people in the world has declined significantly - by 375 million people since 1981 -- the first such decline in history. The share of the developing world population living on less than $1 per day was cut in half since 1981. Trend #3: Global inequality (among citizens of the world) has declined - modestly -- reversing a 200-year-old trend toward higher inequality. Trend #4: There is no general trend toward higher inequality within countries. Trend #5: Wage inequality is rising worldwide (which may seem to contradict trend #4, but it does not because wages are a small part of household income in developing countries, which make up the bulk of the world in terms of countries and population). Furthermore, the trends toward faster growth and poverty reduction are strongest in the developing countries in which there has been the most rapid integration with the global economy, supporting the view that integration has been a positive force for improving peoples lives in the developing world.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 3333.

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Date of creation: 01 Jun 2004
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3333

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Keywords: Services&Transfers to Poor; Economic Theory&Research; Economic Conditions and Volatility; Poverty Impact Evaluation; Environmental Economics&Policies; Inequality; Achieving Shared Growth; Governance Indicators; Safety Nets and Transfers; Services&Transfers to Poor;

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References

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  1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-37, October.
  2. Eric Edmonds, 2007. "Child Labor," Working Papers id:988, eSocialSciences.
  3. Branko Milanovic, 2002. "True World Income Distribution, 1988 and 1993: First Calculation Based on Household Surveys Alone," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(476), pages 51-92, January.
  4. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2001. "Growth is good for the poor," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2587, The World Bank.
  5. Loren Brandt & Dwayne Benjamin, 2002. "Agriculture and Income Distribution in Rural Vietnam under Economic Reforms: A Tale of Two Regions," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 519, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
  6. Bee Yan Aw & Sukkyun Chung & Mark J. Roberts, 1998. "Productivity and the Decision to Export: Micro Evidence from Taiwan and South Korea," NBER Working Papers 6558, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  7. Remco H. Oostendorp, 2009. "Globalization and the Gender Wage Gap," World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 23(1), pages 141-161, January.
  8. Peter H. Lindert & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2003. "Does Globalization Make the World More Unequal?," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization in Historical Perspective, pages 227-276 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  9. N. F. R. Crafts, 2000. "Globalization and Growth in the Twentieth Century," IMF Working Papers 00/44, International Monetary Fund.
  10. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2003. "Institutions, trade, and growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 133-162, January.
  11. George J. Borjas & Richard B. Friedman & Lawrence F. Katz, 1997. "How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 28(1), pages 1-90.
  12. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2001. "Trade, growth, and poverty," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2615, The World Bank.
  13. John M. Abowd & Richard B. Freeman, 1991. "Immigration, Trade and the Labor Market," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abow91-1, October.
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Cited by:
  1. Sato, Sumie & Fukushige, Mototsugu, 2009. "Globalization and economic inequality in the short and long run: The case of South Korea 1975-1995," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 62-68, January.
  2. Sapkota, Jeet Bahadur, 2011. "Impacts of globalization on quality of life: evidence from developing countries," MPRA Paper 37506, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  3. Aylin Koç & Ahmet Yýlmaz Ato & Zeynep Çirkin, 2013. "Empirical Investigation on Globalization and Social Polarization: Cross Country Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 3(1), pages 206-213.
  4. Goto, Hideaki, 2008. "Labor Market Competitiveness and Poverty," Working Papers 51159, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
  5. Rassekh, Farhad, 2010. "Is Stolper-Samuelson dangerous and FPE a failure?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 555-561, October.
  6. Wagle, Udaya R., 2007. "Are Economic Liberalization and Equality Compatible? Evidence from South Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 1836-1857, November.
  7. Getachew, Yoseph Yilma, 2010. "Public capital and distributional dynamics in a two-sector growth model," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 606-616, June.

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