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7 - Equity among nations?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Todd Sandler
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
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Summary

This chapter, like the last, is speculative. Since 1960, income disparity among nations has increased worldwide: The richest nations have experienced an increase in their share of world gross national product (GNP), while the poorest nations have experienced a decrease in their share of world GNP. Between 1960 and 1991, the richest fifth of all nations had its share of world income rise from 70% to 85%, while the poorest fifth of all nations had its share fall from 2.3% to 1.4%. In a UN press release reported by CNN Interactive (16 July 1996), income disparity was indicated to have widened both within and among countries in the last few years. This trend toward greater inequality gives every indication of continuing into the next millennium as the underlying factors show no signs of abating. Will increasing world inequality worsen or alleviate global conflicts? Furthermore, will increased inequality make these conflicts easier or more difficult to address in the future? This chapter examines these questions. At the outset, I must emphasize that there are no simple answers. An increase in worldwide inequality may worsen some problems through its impact on international trade and development, while it may lessen other problems through the underlying incentives for the rich to provide crisis-averting public goods to the world at large. Some global challenges are better handled with increased global inequality, while others are not.

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Chapter
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Global Challenges
An Approach to Environmental, Political, and Economic Problems
, pp. 182 - 198
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1997

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  • Equity among nations?
  • Todd Sandler, University of Southern California
  • Book: Global Challenges
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139174886.008
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  • Equity among nations?
  • Todd Sandler, University of Southern California
  • Book: Global Challenges
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139174886.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Equity among nations?
  • Todd Sandler, University of Southern California
  • Book: Global Challenges
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139174886.008
Available formats
×