Filling the Gap: Inequality Indicators for Post-2015 @CGDev Center - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Filling the Gap: Inequality Indicators for Post-2015 @CGDev Center for Global Development September 16, 2013

The Median Is the Message: Median Consumption Expenditure as Measure of Material Well-Being and Shared Development Progress Nancy Birdsall & Christian Meyer @nancymbirdsall @chrmeyer Center for Global Development

A more forward looking measure than the poverty rate * and gap? MEX 6 Survey median consumption, daily p.c. (2005 PPP$) Low Lower middle Upper middle JOR CHN-U income income income AZE THA MDA IRN 5 MDV ALB BTN 4 MAR GAB SYR CHN FJI DZA KGZ EGY 3 IRQ LKA ARM developing country CMR NIC TJK GEO median (estimate) CPV PHL DJI IDN-U VNM SDN IDN-R CHN-R YEM MRT BWA 2 TKM KHM GHA TGO $2 a day SEN PAK IND-U PNG poverty line SWZ IND IND-R TMP AGO BGD NGA COG 1 ZMB * = poverty rate 0 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)

It matters at what point of the distribution we measure growth: Who benefitted between 1995-2010? South Africa Mexico 3 5 change of GNI Cumulative annual growth (% change) 2.5 % change, annualized % change, annualized 4 change of consumption mean change at consumption 2 median change of GNI 3 1.5 change of consumption mean change at consumption median 2 1 poorest richest poorest richest .5 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percentile of Consumption Distribution Percentile of Consumption Distribution percentiles of distribution percentiles of distribution Percentage change at median: 1.948967695236206 Percentage change at median: 1.857921481132507