Global inequality: Bringing politics back in

Data on contemporary global inequality are dramatic, widely known and a new conventional backdrop. In research and policy economists lead the way and the emphasis is on global poverty rather than inequality. Within nations poverty is a challenge, while inequality is not; on a world scale, arguably i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Third world quarterly 2002-12, Vol.23 (6), p.1023-1046
Main Author: Pieterse, Jan Nederveen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business and politics
Capitalism
Center and Periphery
Developing countries
Economic development
Economic growth
Economic hardship
Economic liberalism
Economic Policy
Equality
Finance
Free trade and protection
Global economy
Global justice
Global poverty
Globalization
Income inequality
Inequality
International aspects
LDCs
Marginalism
Neoliberalism
North and South
Political economy
Political power
Poverty
Poverty alleviation
Poverty relief
Risk
Sociology
United Kingdom
World Bank
World Economy
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Summary:Data on contemporary global inequality are dramatic, widely known and a new conventional backdrop. In research and policy economists lead the way and the emphasis is on global poverty rather than inequality. Within nations poverty is a challenge, while inequality is not; on a world scale, arguably it is the other way round. The international policy focus on poverty alleviation coexists with neoliberal policies that widen inequality domestically and internationally. A strategic question is where the data depart from the conventional wisdom. Thus a general assumption is that inequality within countries is largest in poor countries; the widest inequality, however, is found within the USA and UK. The conventional assumption is that neoliberal policies and free trade lift all tides; those countries and periods, however, where this policy has been most consistently implemented show the steepest increase in inequality. Global inequality helps sustain domestic privilege. The belief that the risks that global inequality poses can be contained in the global margins is contradicted by the cross-border effects of environmental degradation, migration, transnational crime and terrorism. In explaining global inequality, economic accounts ignore inequal relations of power. The combined policies of developmental discipline, global integration, and marginalisation and containment may be viewed as part of a single process of hierarchical integration, which has turbulence built in.
ISSN:0143-6597
1360-2241
DOI:10.1080/0143659022000036667