Inequality in Asia and the Pacific Inter-regional Expert Group Mee3ng Placing Equality at the Centre of Agenda 2030 Patrik Andersson Chief, Sustainable Socioeconomic Transforma9on Sec9on Social Development Division United Na9ons Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) San5ago, 27-28 June, 2018 1
Key Findings from Asia-Pacific 2
Fastest growing region & impressive reduc5on of poverty Popula3on in poverty in Asia and the Pacific, 2000 and 2013 People living in poverty (millions) 60 2000 50 1500 40 1000 30 20 500 10 0 0 2000-2004 2010-2013 2000-2004 2010-2013 1.90 USD 3.10 USD SSWA ENEA SEA NCA Pacific % of popula5on Propor3on of popula3on living in poverty (%) Source: United Na5ons ESCAP Sta5s5cal Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2015. 3
With Large Gaps in Access to Basic Opportuni5es 0,40 0,35 0,30 Average D-index 0,25 0,20 0,15 0,10 0,05 0,00 Afghanistan Bangladesh Pakistan Bhutan India Maldives Timor-Leste Lao PDR Cambodia Myanmar Indonesia Philippines Viet Nam Thailand Vanuatu Tajikistan Armenia Kyrgyzstan Turkmenistan Kazakhstan Mongolia SSWA SEA Pacific NCA ENEA 4
and Increasing Income Inequality 60 Gini coefficient, 1990 and 2014 50 43,6 46,4 47,6 45,0 45,7 46,9 49,6 48,6 Gini index 40 30 32,7 38,1 20 10 0 Asia-Pacific Europe Western Asia Africa La5n America and the Caribbean Note: Regional Gini, popula5on weighted average 1990 2014 5
Main Reasons for this Development 6
Stubbornly High Levels of Vulnerable Employment 100 90 80 70 Share of vulnerable employment in Asia and the Pacific, 2016 Total Male Female 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Lao PDR Bangladesh India Myanmar Nepal Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Bhutan Papua New Guinea Afghanistan Cambodia Viet Nam Pakistan Indonesia Georgia Vanuatu Azerbaijan Tonga Thailand Guam Mongolia Samoa World China Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Sri Lanka Armenia Fiji Iran, Islamic Rep. of Philippines Uzbekistan Turkey Kazakhstan Korea, Rep. of Maldives Turkmenistan Malaysia New Caledonia French Polynesia New Zealand Australia Japan Singapore Hong Kong, China Russian Federa5on Brunei Darussalam Macao, China Source: ILO (2015) Trends Econometric Models. 7
and Low Coverage of Social Protec5on & Healthcare 30 Social protec3on and health expenditures as share of GDP, latest year 25 20 EU-average Per cent of GDP 15 10 5 0 Japan New Zealand Australia Russian Federa5on Mongolia Turkey Iran Kiriba5 Uzbekistan Georgia Republic of Korea Kyrgyzstan La5n America Azerbaijan Armenia Palau Asia-Pacific Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Viet Nam China Arab States Kazakhstan Africa Maldives Singapore Malaysia Thailand Papua New Guinea Fiji Timor-Leste Nepal Afghanistan India Bhutan Brunei Darussalam Philippines Samoa Bangladesh Lao PDR Cambodia Indonesia Myanmar Pakistan 8
Also, taxes are mainly Collected on Consump5on 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Total tax revenues in Asia-Pacific as share of GDP, 2015 OECD average ESCAP average 0 Macao, China New Zealand Japan Australia Korea, Rep. of Singapore Hong Kong, China Russian Federa5on Turkey Fiji Georgia Kazakhstan China Thailand Palau Malaysia Tuvalu Maldives Azerbaijan Solomon Islands Mongolia Kyrgyzstan Papua New Guinea Armenia Samoa Tajikistan Vietnam Tonga Vanuatu India Kiriba5 Lao PDR Philippines Sri Lanka Micronesia Cambodia Indonesia Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal Afghanistan High income Upper-middle income Lower-middle income Low income Total tax revenues (% of GDP) Taxes on income, profits, and capital gains (% of GDP) Source: Interna5onal Center for Tax and Development (2016) and OECD (2013) revenue sta5s5cs. For all countries, the most recent data entries between 2011 and 2013 were reported. 9
So, What s the Impact? 10
Asia-Pacific is s5ll Home to Almost Half of the World s Poor La3n America and the Caribbean 4% Rest of the world 1% Asia and the Pacific 43% East and North-East Asia 6% South-East Asia 11% North and Central Asia 5% Pacific island developing States 1% Sub-Saharan Africa 51% Eastern Europe and Central Asia 1% South and South- West Asia 77% 11
Missed opportunity to LiX Another 140 Million People from Poverty Popula3on in millions 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0-10 Impact of income inequality on extreme poverty 54,5 15,1 8,0 0,0 0,0 0,2 0,2 1,2 2,4-3,8-2,7-2,3-1,5-1,4-0,7-0,5-0,3-0,3-0,3-0,2-0,1 0,0 0,0 71,5 12
Progress has been Uneven ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES (% OF POPULATION) 80 60 40 20 0 Access to electricity [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] Access to prof. help during childbirth [CELLRANGE] Access to clean fuels [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] Access to secondary educa3on [CELLRANGE] [CELLRANGE] 2000 2014 2000 2011 2003 2012 1991 2013 [CELLRANGE] CAMBODIA LAO PDR INDONESIA PAKISTAN Average access rate Access rate of the worst-off group 13
Income Inequality Remains High in Most of Countries Gini coefficient, 1990 and 2014 14
Key recommenda5ons from Asia-Pacific 15
Ø Harness the poten3al of economic growth to create decent jobs Ø Broaden social protec3on coverage Ø Provide universal access to basic services Ø Promote gender equality and women s economic empowerment Ø Enhance financial inclusion Ø Ensure social inclusion of vulnerable groups 16
17
Thank you! www.unescap.org/our-work/social-development www.socialprotection-toolbox.org 18