A
rapidly growing gap between rich and poor in many developing East Asian nations
is threatening the foundation for the region's economic success, the World Bank
said in a report released on December 4.
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A
man rides a tricycle past an advertising poster for luxury apartments in
Beijing on July 19, 2016. - Source: Reuters
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Booming economic growth has
lifted millions in the region out of extreme poverty since the 1980s, but the
wave of prosperity has not guaranteed upward mobility and economic security for
large swathes of the population, according to the bank.
It said rapidly ageing
population, urbanisation and the disappearance of labour-intensive factory jobs
threatened to push millions back below the poverty line - defined as living on
between 3.1 USD and 5.5 USD a day.
The number of poor people
across the region - including about a dozen countries and the Pacific Islands,
but excluding developed countries such as Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK)
- has dropped significantly in recent decades.
About two-thirds of its
population were either economically secure or middle class by 2015, up from 20
percent in 2002, the bank said.
But income inequality is
already high or rising rapidly, with the problem most acute in Indonesia and
China, according to the report.
Between 1988 and 2012, the
wealthiest five percent of the region's population increased their personal
consumption by almost 400 USD a year, compared with less than 30 USD for the
poorest 20 percent.
The region has also seen the
emergence of a new class of super-rich, with billionaire wealth now equivalent
to almost nine percent of regional gross domestic product, creating an
accompanying increase in the perception of wealth inequality.
Given this, WB experts
stressed the need for developing nations in East Asia and the Pacific to
intensify social security network and poverty reduction, strengthen their
personal income tax collection, tackle corruption and improve job access.
Source:
VNA