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Showing posts from February, 2014

Africa`s Income Inequalities: The Realities of 'A Few Big Men'

Economic inequality has dominated international economic debate recently, and with good reason. Developmental charity organisation Oxfam International made headlines not too long ago with its report which noted that the 85 richest people in the world own the wealth of half of the world`s population. The report further suggests that this is no accident either, as more often than not; these wealthy elites “co-opt the political process to rig the rules of the economic system in their favour.” In America, the top 1 % of the population earns 95% of the total income. Yet even in the world’s largest economy, this is a very topical issue, and could yet be the flashpoint of the next Presidential election amongst the America`s electorate.  Sub-Saharan Africa sees, nearly 50% of its population live on less than US$1 a day: the world`s highest rate of extreme poverty according to the African Development Bank. What truly drives economic growth is a thriving middle class that spends on goo