Shared Prosperity : Links to Growth, Inequality and Inequality of Ppportunity

Focusing on the welfare of the less well off as a measure of real societal progress is the fundamental principle underlying the WBG indicator of "shared prosperity", namely income growth of the bottom 40 percent in every country. This paper uses a database assembled by the World Bank Group to investigate some basic characteristics of shared prosperity, particularly its relationship with overall economic growth and inequality. Initial estimates using this dataset of 79 countries show that median income growth of the bottom 40 percent (circa 2005-2010) was 4.2 percent, a high number in comparison to the 3.1 percent per capita income growth of the overall population. In addition, the low and lower-middle income countries appear to be trailing the upper middle and high income countries in boosting shared prosperity. Establishing conceptual links between income growth of the bottom 40 percent, the overall growth rate and reviewing existing evidence on how these relate to inequality, the paper discusses two main ideas. First, shared prosperity is strongly correlated with overall prosperity implying that the whole host of policies that are important to generate and sustain growth remain relevant. Second, boosting shared prosperity will also require a concerted effort to strengthen the social contract, particularly in the area of promoting equality of opportunity. Growing evidence suggests that improving access for all and reducing inequality of opportunities -- particularly those related to human capital development of children -- are not only about "fairness" and building a "just society", but also about realizing a society's aspirations of economic prosperity.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Narayan, Ambar, Saavedra-Chanduvi, Jaime, Tiwari, Sailesh
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-10
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE TERMS, ADVERSE IMPACT, ANNUAL CHANGE, ANNUAL GROWTH, AVERAGE GROWTH, AVERAGE GROWTH RATE, AVERAGE INCOME, AVERAGE INCOME GROWTH, AVERAGE INEQUALITY, AVERAGE RATE, CHILD MORTALITY, CHRONIC MALNUTRITION, CLEAN WATER, CONFLICT, CONSUMPTION GROWTH, COUNTRY INEQUALITY, CREDIT MARKET, CROSS-SECTION DATA, DATA AVAILABILITY, DECLINING INEQUALITY, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING WORLD, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT GOALS, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DEVELOPMENT REPORT, DISADVANTAGED GROUPS, DISTRIBUTIVE POLITICS, DRINKING WATER, ECONOMETRICS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC REVIEW, ECONOMIC SHOCKS, ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION, EDUCATION LEVEL, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, EMPIRICAL LITERATURE, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, EMPLOYMENT STATUS, EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION, EXOGENOUS FACTORS, EXTREME POVERTY, GDP, GINI COEFFICIENT, GROWING ECONOMY, GROWTH EPISODES, GROWTH LITERATURE, GROWTH PATTERN, GROWTH PROCESS, GROWTH RATE, GROWTH RATES, HIGH CORRELATION, HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES, HIGH INEQUALITY, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, HIGHER INEQUALITY, HISTORICAL DATA, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD DATA, HOUSEHOLD HEAD, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD INCOMES, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, IMPACT OF INEQUALITY, INCOME, INCOME DATA, INCOME DIFFERENCES, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME GAINS, INCOME GROUPS, INCOME GROWTH, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME QUINTILE, INCOME TRANSFERS, INCOME TRENDS, INCOMES, INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES, INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES, INEQUALITY, INEQUALITY COUNTRIES, INEQUALITY REDUCTION, INEQUALITY TRENDS, INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, INTERNATIONAL POVERTY LINES, INVESTMENT CLIMATE, LABOR FORCE, LABOR INCOME, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, LONG RUN, LOW INCOME, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, MACROECONOMICS, MALNUTRITION, MARKET FAILURES, MEAN INCOME, MEAN INCOMES, MEASUREMENT ERRORS, MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS, MEASURING INEQUALITY, MEDIAN INCOME, MEDIUM TERM, MICRO DATA, NATIONAL ACCOUNTS, NEGATIVE IMPACT, NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP, NUTRITION, PER CAPITA INCOME, PER CAPITA INCOMES, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY INTERVENTIONS, POLICY MAKERS, POLICY POINT OF VIEW, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL INSTABILITY, POOR, POOR COUNTRIES, POOR HEALTH, POOR PEOPLE, POSITIVE CORRELATION, POSITIVE IMPACT, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POVERTY HEADCOUNT, POVERTY HEADCOUNT RATE, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY RATE, POVERTY RATES, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY-GROWTH-INEQUALITY TRIANGLE, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL, PROMOTING EQUALITY, PUBLIC ECONOMICS, PUBLIC GOODS, PUBLIC POLICY, REAL INCOME, REAL PER CAPITA INCOME, REDISTRIBUTING RESOURCES, REDUCING INEQUALITY, RELATIVE INCOME, RELATIVE INCOME DISTRIBUTION, RELATIVE POVERTY, RISING INEQUALITY, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL GAP, RURAL HOUSEHOLD, SANITATION, SAVINGS, SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION, SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE, SOCIAL CONFLICT, SOCIAL MOBILITY, SOCIAL POLICIES, SOCIAL POLICY, SOCIAL PROGRAMS, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, TARGETING, TAXATION, UNEMPLOYMENT, URBAN AREAS, WAGES, WEALTH DISTRIBUTION, WELL BEING, WELL-BEING, WELLBEING,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18376904/shared-prosperity-links-growth-inequality-inequality-opportunity http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16866
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