Description

This paper focusses on income inequality in Asia, its drivers and policies to combat it. It
 finds that income inequality has risen in most of Asia, in contrast to many regions. While in
 the past, rapid growth in Asia has come with equitable distribution of the gains, more
 recently fast-growing Asian economies have been unable to replicate the “growth with
 equity” miracle. There is a growing consensus that high levels of inequality can hamper the
 pace and sustainability of growth. The paper argues that policies could have a substantial
 effect on reversing the trend of rising inequality. It is imperative to address inequality of
 opportunities, in particular to broaden access to education, health, and financial services.
 Also fiscal policy could combat rising inequality, including by expanding and broadening the
 coverage of social spending, improving tax progressivity, and boosting compliance. Further
 efforts to promote financial inclusion, while maintaining financial stability, can help.

More publications in this series: Working Papers

More publications by: Sonali Jain-Chandra ; Tidiane Kinda ; Kalpana Kochhar ; Shi Piao ; Johanna Schauer