Global income equality now back at 1820s levels: OECD
Paris (AFP) - The gap between the haves and the have-nots globally is now at the same level as in the 1820s, the OECD said Thursday, warning it was one of the most "worrying" developments over the past 200 years.
In a major report on global well-being over the past two centuries, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development noted inequality shot up after globalisation took root in the 1980s.
Researchers studied income levels in 25 countries, charted them back in time to 1820 and then collated them as if the world were a single country.
The results showed that income inequality dropped sharply in the middle of the 20th century -- which the OECD put down to what it called an "egalitarian revolution", notably with the rise of Communism in Eastern Europe -- but then spiked more recently.
http://news.yahoo.com/global-income-equality-now-back-1820s-levels-oecd-231056501.html