奇速英语

分配不均与GDP

A new report says income inequality (不平均)is hurting the potential for growth around the world. It says the best way to deal with the inequality is by helping poor people and the middle class.

The report is based on an International Monetary Fund study. It examined the problem of income inequality: the differences in wealth between the rich and everyone else.

Opinions about income inequality are not hard to find. Many people are concerned about the problem. Kalpana Kochhar is Deputy Director of Strategy Department at the IMF. She said, "The gap between the rich and the poor is at the highest level in decades in advanced countries, and inequality is also rising in major emerging(新兴的) markets."

The new report is called "Causes and Results of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective(远景)." Ms. Kochhar said, inequality trends have been mixed in emerging markets and developing countries. Some countries are experiencing falling inequality rates, with poor people and the middle class making gains. However, general inequities in education, health care, and finance remain in areas such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa.

The report suggested that policymakers pay their attention to the poor and middle class. That is because they are the major force for economic growth -- or an increase in a country's gross domestic product, or GDP. The GDP is the value of all the finished goods and services produced within the country.

The IMF found that a one percent increase in the earnings of the richest 20 percent of people led to a nearly one percent decrease in GDP growth over a five-year period. An increase in the income share of the poorest 20 percent led to more than a one-third percent increase in GDP.

Kalpana Kochhar said this means that directing policy to the poor and middle class is good for growth. She said this means that ending poverty could also improve growth prospects for all. She said that is "a fairly powerful message" for policymakers and researchers around the world.