Today @Oxfam released its annual inequality report, leading to headlines e.g. "World's 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%". But before reaching (likely troubling) conclusions, consider a few methodological & logical shortcomings... 1/nhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/21/world-26-richest-people-own-as-much-as-poorest-50-per-cent-oxfam-report …
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Purchasing power geographically varies widely. It is 5x in India compared to Switzerland. Because more poor people live in the former, their purchasing power -- which matters, not money -- is not as low as it seems. But Oxfam ignores this, increasing apparent inequality. 2/n
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One important, increasingly common way that people become richer is by investing in human capital, e.g. education. Young people have little net wealth (assets - liabilities, what Oxfam measures), but become wealthy later. This will manifest as increasing wealth inequality. 3/n
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Global income inequality -- arguably a better measure -- has been decreasing for about 25 years, and this is forecast to continue. Charts from
@OurWorldInData 4/npic.twitter.com/PY6NdztakI
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Thanks, this was very helpful.
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