## Chart of the Week: Seeking Solutions to Growing Inequality

_IMF Blog, April 17, 2017_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Chart of the Week: Seeking Solutions to Growing Inequality](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/04/17/chart-of-the-week-seeking-solutions-to-growing-inequality)

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: The Editors
- Published: April 17, 2017

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### Key findings and context
- Global economic integration has brought "enormous benefits in the form of rising living standards," but "has also contributed to widening inequality within some countries."
- In advanced economies, the incomes of the top 1 percent "have grown three times faster than those of the rest of the population over the past three decades."
- Income inequality is a focal topic as finance ministers and central banks gather in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

### Why inequality matters for policy makers
- When the benefits of growth are shared more broadly, "growth is stronger, more durable, and more resilient."
- Rising within-country inequality can undermine these desirable properties of growth.

### Policy recommendations and ongoing work
- In a speech on April 12, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde outlined steps governments can take to help workers affected by labor-market dislocations:
  - greater emphasis on retraining and vocational training
  - job search assistance
  - relocation support
- The IMF’s Fiscal Monitor, to be released on April 19, "explains how governments can use taxation and spending to ensure that growth is more equitable."

*Source: Chart of the Week: Seeking Solutions to Growing Inequality (The Editors), April 17, 2017.*

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chapter1_Chart4_WideningIncomeGap.gif](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chapter1_Chart4_WideningIncomeGap.gif)
- [speech](http://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2017/04/07/building-a-more-resilient-and-inclusive-global-economy-a-speech-by-christine-lagarde)
- [Fiscal Monitor](http://www.imf.org/en/publications/fm)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/04/17/chart-of-the-week-seeking-solutions-to-growing-inequality_