Income Inequality Archive

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on income inequality and poverty reduction in various countries around the world. Last year, millions of South Koreans joined marches to demand that President Park Geun-hye step down over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal. But the protests also drew on popular grievances over growing economic inequalities. In an email interview, Anthony P. D’Costa, chair and professor of contemporary Indian studies at the University of Melbourne and editor of “After-Development Dynamics: South Korea’s Engagement with Contemporary Asia,” discusses income inequality in South Korea. WPR: What is the extent of income […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on income inequality and poverty reduction in various countries around the world. Indonesian President Joko Widodo recently pledged that his administration would focus on reducing economic disparities in 2017, and he called on his ministers to accelerate the implementation of the government’s poverty-eradication programs. In an email interview, Matthew Wai-Poi, a senior economist at the World Bank, discusses inequality in Indonesia. WPR: What is the rate of income inequality in Indonesia, what are the latest trends in terms of widening or lessening inequality, and what are the main factors […]