Publication: The World Bank’s New Inequality Indicator: The Number of Countries with High Inequality
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Date
2024-06-11
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Published
2024-06-11
Author(s)
Haddad, Cameron Nadim
Diaz-Bonilla, Carolina
Hill, Ruth
Lara Ibarra, Gabriel
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Abstract
The World Bank recently introduced a new key indicator to guide its work: the number of countries with high inequality, defined as a Gini index above 40. The new indicator was introduced as part of the new World Bank vision of ending poverty on a livable planet. This paper reviews why reducing inequality matters for ending poverty on a livable planet, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of using the Gini index to track inequality, outlines challenges in measuring inequality, and discusses what a Gini threshold of 40 implies. Using the most recent data for every country, 52 countries of a total of 169 countries are classified as high inequality countries, which represents a decline from 74 countries at the beginning of the millennium.
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“Haddad, Cameron Nadim; Mahler, Daniel Gerszon; Diaz-Bonilla, Carolina; Hill, Ruth; Lakner, Christoph; Lara Ibarra, Gabriel. 2024. The World Bank’s New Inequality Indicator: The Number of Countries with High Inequality. Policy Research Working Paper; 10796. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41687 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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