Letters
SIR – Ian Castles (Letters, May 26th) says that world income distribution has become more equal over the past 25 years. My article (“Winners and losers”, April 28th) shows why one cannot make such an unqualified statement. Of the many plausible measures, Mr Castles's statement rests on the one most favourable to the view that inequality is falling. In particular, he uses PPP exchange rates, which introduce a very substantial downward bias. If we are interested in distribution from the point of view of issues such as migration, the marginalisation of developing countries and capacity to repay foreign debts, we should compare incomes with market exchange rates. The conclusion is then unambiguous: distribution became much more unequal over the past quarter-century.
This article appeared in the By Invitation section of the print edition under the headline “Letters”
From the June 2nd 2001 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from By Invitation
Bangladesh has achieved its second liberation, says Muhammad Yunus
The interim government’s new leader argues for releasing political prisoners and holding a free election
Margaret Hodge’s lessons from east London on countering the far right
Mainstream parties must win back white working-class voters by focusing on local issues, says the former Labour MP
The real winner of Venezuela’s election urges the regime to face facts
A peaceful transfer of power is still possible, says Edmundo González
Thailand’s thwarted election winner on the move to ban his party
Weaponising the courts to muzzle dissent will fail in the long run, says Pita Limjaroenrat
Keep the code behind AI open, say two entrepreneurs
Martin Casado and Ion Stoica argue that open-source models will power innovation without compromising security
Not all AI models should be freely available, argues a legal scholar
The more capable they are, the greater the risk of catastrophe, reckons Lawrence Lessig