ANSD : Inequality: A core issue for development

WED 8 - 5 - 2024

Date: Mar 28, 2019
Source: The Daily Star

Inequality: A core issue for development

Hiba Huneini
Inequality is a word that is receiving a great deal of focus in international development. Amid the emerging challenges and crises all over the world, human development is being revisited and studied through the lens of inequality. For this reason, it was announced that on the 30th anniversary of the U.N. Development Program’s “Human Development Report” next year, the 2019 document will tackle inequality in order to introduce a new conceptual framework that will lay the foundations for new dimensions in development.

The decision by UNDP emphasizes the fact that inequality is exacerbating existing challenges that have been discussed by the HDR for the last 30 years.

The global community has set new targets and milestones with the SDGs and 2030 agenda for peace building, environmental sustainability and poverty eradication

The prevailing literature on inequality has mainly focused on income inequality and, subsequently, poverty.

According to Oxfam, “the rate of extreme poverty is falling, but the number of people living in extreme poverty is rising in various countries, and the gap between the rich and poor is widening.”

Based on Oxfam’s paper “Public good or private wealth?” released in January, “the wealth of the world’s billionaires increased by $900 billion in the last year alone, or $2.5 billion a day. ... Almost half of the world’s population - 3.4 billion people - live on less than $5.50 a day.”

And the link between politics and poverty is clear: People are losing faith in their governments, which set policies benefitting the rich few and neglecting the many who think that increasing their financial status is a pipe dream.

Many people relate this to the power of private corporations and cronyism in accumulating wealth.

Economic inequality also has a gender element to it, which is linked to pay and wealth gaps.

Globally, there are more rich men than women, and usually men are paid more for doing same roles as women. Men also reach senior and decision-making positions easier than women.

Conversely, the percentage of women is higher in the poorest-paid and least-secure jobs - though there is complete negligence to women’s contribution to the economy through unpaid care work.

We usually tackle inequality in its broader, global perspective - but it must equally be addressed at the national level.

Inequality is not linked to poverty and income gaps alone.

If we are to address it, we must take a holistic approach, addressing challenges in health care, education, access to technology and exposure to shocks.

We need clearer definitions and more accurate measurements and studies to deepen our understanding of how inequality is impacting our economy, environment and society.

Governments should also respond differently in tackling “inequality” through producing more accurate and reliable data.

Household surveys to measure poverty are desperately needed, but such studies should collect data on both poverty and wealth, in order to identify the wealth concentration and gaps.

Moreover, inequality can’t be addressed anymore by standalone development projects and laws.

Governments should construct a human economy by including women and men equally together for the benefit of ordinary people, and not the privileged and rich few.

_{Hiba Huneini is manager of the youth and civic engagement program at the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on March 27, 2019, on page 2.}

The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Arab Network for the Study of Democracy

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