Globalization, Liberalization, and Inequality: Expectations and Experience

Abstract

Explores the effects of moves from dirigiste to laissez‐faire policies (liberalization) on income distribution within countries, and also to consider briefly its impact on inter‐country inequality. The emphasis is on inequality within countries because this is where world inequalities have been most exacerbated over the past two decades. In itself, this represents an important change in inequality in world politics. The gap between rich and poor has long been the major source of inequality among people in the world. Yet this gap has, if anything, closed slightly over the past couple of decades. In particular, the chapter demonstrates that over the 1980s inequalities within countries generally tended to worsen—more so than in any previous post‐WW2 decade—and argues that if intra‐country distribution had remained the same over the 1980s, inter‐country inequalities would have been reduced.

The world bank and “global poverty reduction”: Good policies or bad data?

“…The basic reason for this fall is the rapid growth that has occurred in China and India in recent years. But this ignores some of the problems of PPP in general and China and India in particular cited earlier, as well as the rise in inequality within these, and most other countries in recent years (Stewart and Berry 1999;Wade 2002: 17-18;Milanovic 2002). It also ignores the increasing polarisation between the richest and poorest countries (and people) which, according to one study, increased sharply in the short five year period from 1988-93 (Milanovic 2002;Wade 2003: 27-8).…”

Political Belonging in a Neoliberal Era: The Struggle of the Sans-Papiers

“…In popular and administrative commentary the influx of irregular migrants is represented as an illegitimate intrusion and therefore as a major threat to the sovereignty and security of the state (Teitelbaum and Weiner, 1995;Weiner, 1995;Zimmerman, 1995;Huntington, 2004). Fuelled by increasing economic divisions and insecurity of income within host societies and by the growth of far right antiimmigrant movements (Stewart and Berry, 1999;Ignazi, 2002), irregular migrants are targeted by populist and official rhetoric as threats to international order, labour market regulation, cultural homogeneity, social stability, welfare provision, services and infrastructure and personal security. Border policing has been dramatically upscaled and inter-governmentally coordinated, along with restrictive and punitive policies directed at irregular migrants and people-smugglers (Robinson, 1998;Lohrmann, 2000;Jordan and Düvell, 2002;Martin, 2003).…”

Turkish Managers as a Part of the Transnational Capitalist Class

“…Through the influence of the developed countries and especially through the policies exerted by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, underdeveloped countries went through "the same paradigmatic shift" with the First World (Stewart and Berry 1999). The Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) applied through the directions of the IMF and the World Bank had the same objectives in all the countries.…”