CEPAL Review no. 124

CEPAL Review N° 124 • April 2018
11
The importance of China and India is also clearly revealed in a graphical analysis of the evolution
of the global income distribution (see figure 1). Two major movements stand out: the rightward shift of
the distribution in the period considered (which implies income growth) and the change in the shape
of the distribution, with the double mode gradually tending to disappear.
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0
Figure 1
Global income distribution, selected years a
(Log income density and PPP b dollars at 2005 prices)
58
78
103
137
182
241
320
425
565
750
995
1 322
1 755
2 330
3 094
4 109
5 456
7 244
9 619
12 773
16 961
22 521
29 905
39 709
52 727
1988 1993 1998 2003 2008
Source: Lakner, C. and B. Milanovic, “Global income distribution: from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession”, World
Bank Economic Review, vol. 30, No. 2, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 2016.
a
Population-weighted logarithmic scale.
b
Purchasing power parity.
Lakner and Milanovic (2016) note that both movements can be explained almost entirely by the
changes recorded in China and, to a lesser extent, in India. Both of these countries shift to the right in
the distribution (see figure 2), leaving sub-Saharan Africa on the far left.
Figure 2
Global ncome distribution, selected years a
(Log income density and PPP b dollars at 2005 prices)
0.40
A. 1988 B. 1993
0.40
0.30
0.30
0.20
0.20
0.10
0.10
0
58
89
137
209
320
490
750
1 147
1 755
2 685
4 109
6 287
9 619
14 719
22 521
34 460
52 727
0
16
26
43
71
119
197
328
545
907
1 508
2 507
4 170
6 934
11 532
19 178
31 892
53 036
China India Rest of the world
Verónica Amarante and Maira Colacce