Global leaders urged to join initiative to fight extreme inequality
More than 1,500 academics and economists sign letter, calling growing gap between richest and poorest ‘a policy choice that can be reversed’ More than 1,500 academics and economists from 100-plus countries are urging global leaders to join an initiative against extreme inequality, calling current unfairness “a policy choice that can be reversed”. Before the UN general assembly in New York next…
Over 1,500 academic experts from more than 100 countries have signed an open letter urging global leaders to join the International Panel on Inequality (IPI) in the fight against extreme inequality. The letter, addressed to the UN General Assembly, states that "extreme concentrations of income and wealth translate into undemocratic concentrations of power, unravelling trust in our societies and polarising our politics."
Notable signatories include former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu, and economists Thomas Piketty, Mariana Mazzucato, and Jayati Ghosh.
The IPI aims to mirror the success of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), providing assessments of the global inequality crisis and proposing policy recommendations. The panel, led by Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, will be composed of leading experts, partner governments, and multilateral institutions to produce regular reports and raise awareness of inequality as a global issue.
Critics of inequality worry not only about the gap between wealthy and poor nations but also about inequalities within individual economies. Ghosh, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, points to India as a prime example of the need for the IPI. Despite being one of the world's fastest-growing economies, India remains one of the most unequal countries, with a significant wealth gap alongside profound deprivation.
Former global leaders, including Germany's Olaf Scholz, Ireland's Leo Varadkar, and New Zealand's Helen Clark, have expressed support for the IPI in a separate statement. The UK government has yet to confirm its involvement in the initiative, but Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has indicated openness to collaborating on global challenges. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who will attend the UN General Assembly in New York, is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the event.
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