New episode of the EBRD podcast available for download: iTunes, ebrd.com and SoundCloud.
The latest episode of the Pocket Economics podcast looks at inequality, asking how it can be overcome and what impact it has on economic growth, the fate of reforms and people’s happiness.
Drawing on data from latest EBRD Transition Report, focused on inequality and inclusion, EBRD Chief Economist Sergei Guriev paints a picture of a deeply divided world where a decline in global inequality is paralleled by a rise in inequality within individual countries.
“There is no global government, so what people really care about is developments within countries. There inequality is quite high. People see that growth, globalisation and technological progress benefit the top 1 per cent or 10 per cent of the population, and the others feel excluded,” he tells Jonathan Charles, EBRD Managing Director, Communications.
Mr Guriev highlights the dangers inherent in widespread exclusion, such as the spread of populism and rejection of market reforms, and calls for better, more inclusive globalisation.
The main problem, in his opinion, remains more equitable distribution: how to share globalisation’s benefits to make sure the majority supports this very important driver of economic growth.
Read EBRD Transition Report 2016-17 and watch the video of the launch event of the report.
