Interesting how the financial press thinks about the new IMF report: World Economic Outlook. The Financial Times looks at how the IMF may have got its facts wrong, and that its bullish optimism about the world economy is unwarranted.
The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, picks up on something entirely different. While leaving uncriticised the main thrust of the IMF’s conclusion, the reporter has observed something in the report that shouldn’t be – ammunition for the global justice (so called anti-globalisation) movement. The report notes that foreign direct investment and technology have worsened income inequality, and while overall incomes are going up, for the poorest, if there is an increase at all, it is slight.
It’s not something you’ll hear often. And it’s as true of rich countries as poor ones. In real terms, the average US member of the working class earns less now than in 1980.