On the Causes of Increasing World Poverty and Inequality, or Why the Matthew Effect Prevails
Author(s)
Wade, Robert Hunter
Abstract
In a previous essay I argued that world poverty – the number of people living in extreme poverty, known as the poverty headcount- may be increasing; and that world income inequality may also be increasing. This strikes at the heart of the neoliberal argument. It suggests that Henry George’s enigma may be deepening; or, in more analytic terms, that at the level of world economy as a whole increasing returns in income generation -the positive feedback of the Matthew effect, ‘To him that hath shall be given’ -prevails over diminishing returns, despite the third wave of globalization. For economics this is very bad news. Having indicated what is at stake I now summarize the earlier findings about levels and trends and then go on to talk about some of the bulldozer (not scalpel) causes.
