World faces an “inequality emergency,” need global panel: G20 task force
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A G20 task force set up by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged world leaders to form a new international panel to address inequality.
The group warned that extreme wealth gaps are damaging democracy and increasing economic instability.
Joseph Stiglitz, who heads the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, said that the world understood that there was a climate emergency, and that it was time to recognise that there was also an inequality emergency.
The committee’s report was commissioned under South Africa’s G20 presidency. It found that the richest 1% of the global population captured 41% of all new wealth generated since the year 2000. In comparison, the poorest 50% increased their wealth by 1%, based on data from the World Inequality Lab.
Stiglitz, who is also a Nobel prize-winning economist, said that it was not just unfair and that it undermined societal cohesion, but that it was also a problem for the economy and politics.
The task force said the proposed panel should follow the model of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It said such a body would study the causes and consequences of inequality and give guidance to governments and policymakers.
The report said that 83% of countries, representing 90% of the world’s population, meet the World Bank’s definition of inequality. The task force noted that nations with high inequality are more likely to face a decline in democratic conditions.
The authors pointed to COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and global trade conflicts as a “perfect storm” that has worsened poverty and inequality. They said one in four people globally skip meals regularly. They also said billionaire wealth is now at the highest level in history.
This inequality task force is the first of its kind within the G20. It is expected to present its findings to G20 leaders when they meet in Johannesburg in November. The United States will take over the rotating G20 presidency at the end of this year.