The Bitter Truth: Why Asia’s Tigers Suffer while the Nordics Thrive (Part 2)

The root of low wages is inequality, and at the root of inequality lies cronyism and closely held corporate control.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/02/06
By: Justin Hugo

This is the second in our 5 part series. You can read part 1 here.

Inequality, poverty and corporate cultures

What is the cause of the large differentials in wage levels outlined in part 1? The reason lies in the Gini coefficient or the measure of income inequality. Singapore is the most unequal country among the developed nations – even when you include the United States and the United Kingdom.

Singapore also has the highest Gini coefficient, at 0.38 of the countries we are considering here. Hong Kong has the second-highest at 0.379 (derived from the Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department for comparison on OECD’s scale.)

By contrast, Denmark and Norway are the most equal countries in the world, with Gini coefficients of 0.256 and 0.257, respectively. (Note that the Gini coefficient figures account for taxes and transfers aimed at reducing the inequality – even so, Singapore and Hong Kong still present the largest income inequality.)    [FULL  STORY]