A comprehensive analysis conducted by Oxfam International revealed a distressing reality: Nearly two-thirds (close to 60%) of the countries that are getting loans from the IMF and World Bank are currently facing a high, stagnant or increasing income disparity. This research that considered 106 countries used the Gini coefficient, the world-known indicator, which indicated that 64 nations currently have challenges of wealth-deepened inequality to be very high.
OXFAM, the well-known NGO, did not hesitate to criticize the two banks for their contradictory approach. Being undeservedly allied with its high priority to reduce inequalities, these institutions have frequently been charged that they have, in the end, procured policies that have only been able to widen the economic gap. The leaner policies referred to in the report would have drawbacks for ordinary businesses with no alternative funding mechanism from governments for the health and education sectors.
The fact that the research honestly hints at the level of income inequality that pulls together 42 countries, such as Ghana, Honduras and Mozambique, comes into notice. Nevertheless, during the last ten years, inequality has escalated in 37 countries such as Burkina Faso, for instance, Burundi, Ethiopia, and many others.
Oxfam demands the authorities tackle this issue urgently and recommends some actions, like raising taxes on multimillionaires. These actions may, therefore, contribute to the production of trillions of dollars that could be invested in global objectives such as sustainability and combating climate change.
The role of Oxfam in the context of the Spring Meetings between the IMF and World Bank is that the organization demands the G20 Finance Ministers to incorporate fair taxation into their policies and make sure that money – that is flowing through the economy – goes toward decreasing inequality and driving inclusive growth. This nonprofit, in addition, insists on the speedy creation of a binding worldwide mandate that compels high-profile individuals and rich countries to contribute a reasonable share of their income to ease the poverty and inequities in the world.
