Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession

The paper presents a newly compiled and improved database of national household surveys between 1988 and 2008. In 2008, the global Gini index is around 70.5 percent having declined by approximately 2 Gini points over this twenty year period. When i...

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Main Authors: Lakner, Christoph, Milanovic, Branko
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:
CPI
GDP
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/12/18633621/global-income-distribution-fall-berlin-wall-great-recession
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16935
id okr-10986-16935
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-169352021-04-23T14:03:33Z Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession Lakner, Christoph Milanovic, Branko AVERAGE ANNUAL AVERAGE GROWTH AVERAGE GROWTH RATE AVERAGE INCOME AVERAGE INCOMES BENCHMARK CAPITAL FLOWS COMMODITY COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE CONSUMER PRICE INDICES CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION CONSUMERS CONSUMPTION GROWTH COUNTERFACTUAL CPI CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISONS CUMULATIVE POPULATION CURRENCY DATA SET DATA SETS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT POLICY DISPOSABLE INCOME DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGE DISTRIBUTIONAL DATA DOMESTIC PRICES ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ECONOMIES OF SCALE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL WORK EXCHANGE RATE EXCHANGE RATES FINANCIAL SERVICES FOREIGN AID FUNCTIONAL FORM GDP GDP PER CAPITA GINI COEFFICIENT GINI INDEX GLOBAL POVERTY GLOBALIZATION GOVERNMENT BONDS GROUP INEQUALITIES GROWTH RATE GROWTH RATES HIGHER INEQUALITY HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS INCOME INCOME CONVERGENCE INCOME DATA INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS INCOME GAINS INCOME GROUP INCOME GROUPS INCOME GROWTH INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME LEVEL INCOME LEVELS INCOME SHARES INCOME STUDY INCOME TAX INCOMES INCREASING INEQUALITY INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES INDIVIDUAL INCOMES INEQUALITY INEQUALITY AVERSION INEQUALITY MEASURES JURISDICTION LOCAL CURRENCIES LOCAL CURRENCY LORENZ CURVE LOW INCOMES MEAN INCOME MEAN INCOMES MEAN LOG DEVIATION MEASUREMENT ERRORS MEDIAN INCOME NATIONAL INCOME NATIONAL SURVEYS NOMINAL INCOMES 0 HYPOTHESIS OBSERVED CHANGES OVERVALUATION PARTICULAR COUNTRY PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOMES POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY RESEARCH POOR POOR AREAS POOR COUNTRIES POOR COUNTRY POPULATION SHARE POVERTY MEASUREMENT POWER PARITIES PRICE LEVELS PRIVATE CONSUMPTION PURCHASING POWER REAL INCOME REGIONAL COVERAGE REGIONAL INEQUALITY RESIDUAL INEQUALITY RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL POPULATION SAVINGS SOCIAL PROTECTION SURVEY DESIGN TROUGH WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS WORLD ECONOMIES WORLD ECONOMY The paper presents a newly compiled and improved database of national household surveys between 1988 and 2008. In 2008, the global Gini index is around 70.5 percent having declined by approximately 2 Gini points over this twenty year period. When it is adjusted for the likely under-reporting of top incomes in surveys by using the gap between national accounts consumption and survey means in combination with a Pareto-type imputation of the upper tail, the estimate is a much higher global Gini of almost 76 percent. With such an adjustment the downward trend in the Gini almost disappears. Tracking the evolution of individual country-deciles shows the underlying elements that drive the changes in the global distribution: China has graduated from the bottom ranks, modifying the overall shape of the global income distribution in the process and creating an important global "median" class that has transformed a twin-peaked 1988 global distribution into an almost single-peaked one now. The "winners" were country-deciles that in 1988 were around the median of the global income distribution, 90 percent of whom in terms of population are from Asia. The "losers" were the country-deciles that in 1988 were around the 85th percentile of the global income distribution, almost 90 percent of whom in terms of population are from mature economies. 2014-02-05T18:38:16Z 2014-02-05T18:38:16Z 2013-12 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/12/18633621/global-income-distribution-fall-berlin-wall-great-recession http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16935 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6719 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic AVERAGE ANNUAL
AVERAGE GROWTH
AVERAGE GROWTH RATE
AVERAGE INCOME
AVERAGE INCOMES
BENCHMARK
CAPITAL FLOWS
COMMODITY
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
CONSUMER PRICE INDICES
CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION GROWTH
COUNTERFACTUAL
CPI
CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISONS
CUMULATIVE POPULATION
CURRENCY
DATA SET
DATA SETS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DISPOSABLE INCOME
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES
DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGE
DISTRIBUTIONAL DATA
DOMESTIC PRICES
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EMPIRICAL WORK
EXCHANGE RATE
EXCHANGE RATES
FINANCIAL SERVICES
FOREIGN AID
FUNCTIONAL FORM
GDP
GDP PER CAPITA
GINI COEFFICIENT
GINI INDEX
GLOBAL POVERTY
GLOBALIZATION
GOVERNMENT BONDS
GROUP INEQUALITIES
GROWTH RATE
GROWTH RATES
HIGHER INEQUALITY
HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
INCOME
INCOME CONVERGENCE
INCOME DATA
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
INCOME GAINS
INCOME GROUP
INCOME GROUPS
INCOME GROWTH
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME LEVEL
INCOME LEVELS
INCOME SHARES
INCOME STUDY
INCOME TAX
INCOMES
INCREASING INEQUALITY
INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES
INDIVIDUAL INCOMES
INEQUALITY
INEQUALITY AVERSION
INEQUALITY MEASURES
JURISDICTION
LOCAL CURRENCIES
LOCAL CURRENCY
LORENZ CURVE
LOW INCOMES
MEAN INCOME
MEAN INCOMES
MEAN LOG DEVIATION
MEASUREMENT ERRORS
MEDIAN INCOME
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL SURVEYS
NOMINAL INCOMES
0 HYPOTHESIS
OBSERVED CHANGES
OVERVALUATION
PARTICULAR COUNTRY
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOMES
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
POLICY RESEARCH
POOR
POOR AREAS
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR COUNTRY
POPULATION SHARE
POVERTY MEASUREMENT
POWER PARITIES
PRICE LEVELS
PRIVATE CONSUMPTION
PURCHASING POWER
REAL INCOME
REGIONAL COVERAGE
REGIONAL INEQUALITY
RESIDUAL INEQUALITY
RURAL
RURAL AREAS
RURAL POPULATION
SAVINGS
SOCIAL PROTECTION
SURVEY DESIGN
TROUGH
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
WORLD ECONOMIES
WORLD ECONOMY
spellingShingle AVERAGE ANNUAL
AVERAGE GROWTH
AVERAGE GROWTH RATE
AVERAGE INCOME
AVERAGE INCOMES
BENCHMARK
CAPITAL FLOWS
COMMODITY
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
CONSUMER PRICE INDICES
CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION GROWTH
COUNTERFACTUAL
CPI
CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISONS
CUMULATIVE POPULATION
CURRENCY
DATA SET
DATA SETS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DISPOSABLE INCOME
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES
DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGE
DISTRIBUTIONAL DATA
DOMESTIC PRICES
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EMPIRICAL WORK
EXCHANGE RATE
EXCHANGE RATES
FINANCIAL SERVICES
FOREIGN AID
FUNCTIONAL FORM
GDP
GDP PER CAPITA
GINI COEFFICIENT
GINI INDEX
GLOBAL POVERTY
GLOBALIZATION
GOVERNMENT BONDS
GROUP INEQUALITIES
GROWTH RATE
GROWTH RATES
HIGHER INEQUALITY
HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
INCOME
INCOME CONVERGENCE
INCOME DATA
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
INCOME GAINS
INCOME GROUP
INCOME GROUPS
INCOME GROWTH
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME LEVEL
INCOME LEVELS
INCOME SHARES
INCOME STUDY
INCOME TAX
INCOMES
INCREASING INEQUALITY
INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES
INDIVIDUAL INCOMES
INEQUALITY
INEQUALITY AVERSION
INEQUALITY MEASURES
JURISDICTION
LOCAL CURRENCIES
LOCAL CURRENCY
LORENZ CURVE
LOW INCOMES
MEAN INCOME
MEAN INCOMES
MEAN LOG DEVIATION
MEASUREMENT ERRORS
MEDIAN INCOME
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL SURVEYS
NOMINAL INCOMES
0 HYPOTHESIS
OBSERVED CHANGES
OVERVALUATION
PARTICULAR COUNTRY
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOMES
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
POLICY RESEARCH
POOR
POOR AREAS
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR COUNTRY
POPULATION SHARE
POVERTY MEASUREMENT
POWER PARITIES
PRICE LEVELS
PRIVATE CONSUMPTION
PURCHASING POWER
REAL INCOME
REGIONAL COVERAGE
REGIONAL INEQUALITY
RESIDUAL INEQUALITY
RURAL
RURAL AREAS
RURAL POPULATION
SAVINGS
SOCIAL PROTECTION
SURVEY DESIGN
TROUGH
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
WORLD ECONOMIES
WORLD ECONOMY
Lakner, Christoph
Milanovic, Branko
Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6719
description The paper presents a newly compiled and improved database of national household surveys between 1988 and 2008. In 2008, the global Gini index is around 70.5 percent having declined by approximately 2 Gini points over this twenty year period. When it is adjusted for the likely under-reporting of top incomes in surveys by using the gap between national accounts consumption and survey means in combination with a Pareto-type imputation of the upper tail, the estimate is a much higher global Gini of almost 76 percent. With such an adjustment the downward trend in the Gini almost disappears. Tracking the evolution of individual country-deciles shows the underlying elements that drive the changes in the global distribution: China has graduated from the bottom ranks, modifying the overall shape of the global income distribution in the process and creating an important global "median" class that has transformed a twin-peaked 1988 global distribution into an almost single-peaked one now. The "winners" were country-deciles that in 1988 were around the median of the global income distribution, 90 percent of whom in terms of population are from Asia. The "losers" were the country-deciles that in 1988 were around the 85th percentile of the global income distribution, almost 90 percent of whom in terms of population are from mature economies.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Lakner, Christoph
Milanovic, Branko
author_facet Lakner, Christoph
Milanovic, Branko
author_sort Lakner, Christoph
title Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession
title_short Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession
title_full Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession
title_fullStr Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession
title_full_unstemmed Global Income Distribution : From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession
title_sort global income distribution : from the fall of the berlin wall to the great recession
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2014
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/12/18633621/global-income-distribution-fall-berlin-wall-great-recession
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16935
_version_ 1764434983259209728