Interesting findings from a recent OECD study (as reported in WSJ):
““In recent
decades, as much as 40% of the population at the lower end of the distribution
has benefited little from economic growth in many countries,” the OECD said.
“In some cases, low earners have even seen their incomes fall in real terms.
When such a large group in the population gains so little from economic growth,
the social fabric frays and trust in institutions is weakened. …
The OECD said the
rise in inequality in the decades running up to the 2008 financial crisis has
continued in its wake. While in the 1980s the top 10% of earners had incomes
that were seven times as large as those of the bottom 10%, that ratio had risen
to 9.6 across the OECD’s 34 members by 2013. In The U.S., that ratio rose from
15.1 in 2007 to 18.8 in 2014, a level of inequality only surpassed by Mexico.”