Inequality’s Toll on Growth
IMF Podcasts, June 18, 2015
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Inequality’s Toll on Growth
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Published: June 18, 2015
Main findings
- Study by IMF Staff suggests raising income levels of the poor and middle boosts overall economic growth.
- Co-authors Kalpana Kochhar and Era Dabla-Norris say the wealth of the rich is not trickling down.
- Income inequality is at its highest level in decades with half of the world’s wealth in the hands of 1% of the population.
Participants and roles
- Kalpana Kochhar: Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF.
- Era Dabla-Norris: Deputy Chief in Strategy Policy and Review Dept at the IMF.
- Behind the mic: Bruce Edwards (International Monetary Fund) and Rhoda Metcalfe (independent journalist and audio producer).
Context and emphasis
- The event/publication highlights the relationship between income distribution and aggregate growth, emphasizing the growth-enhancing effects of raising incomes for the poor and middle classes.
- The narrative stresses that concentration of wealth among the top 1% does not automatically generate broad-based benefits for the rest of the population.