Trends in World Income Inequality and the ‘Emerging Middle’

The contribution in this volume by Matthias vom Hau, James Scott and David Hulme offers an important point of departure for evaluating the rise of emerging powers and their potential impact on global poverty reduction. This article seeks to further specify (i) the salient cases of rapid economic growth that have come to constitute the ‘emerging middle’ phenomenon; (ii) the relationship between this ‘emerging middle’ and recent patterns of change and continuity in world income inequality; and (iii) the relationship between these changes and possible future patterns in world poverty. The article argues that China and India constitute the two most salient instances of rapid economic growth. For most countries in the world, on the other hand, there has been considerable stability in the relative distribution of world income. Moreover, the very success of China and India might translate into constraints for economic growth in both wealthy and middle-income countries.