經濟合作與發展組織(OECD)周二發表報告稱，貧富差距在大多數發達國家中有所擴大，但擴大的速度并沒有人們想象的那么快，并不足以引起社會動亂。該報告稱，政府通過提高稅收，增加福利開支，緩解了貧富差距。另據此報告提供的最新數據顯示，丹麥是世界上貧富差距最小的國家，瑞典緊隨其后。而貧富差距最大的國家是墨西哥，土耳其次之。

The gap between the rich and poor has grown in most wealthy nations, but not as quickly as many people believe and not enough to raise fears of social upheaval

The gap between the rich and poor has grown in most wealthy nations, but not as quickly as many people believe and not enough to raise fears of social upheaval, the OECD said in a report released yesterday.

The 30-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said governments were off-setting widening disparities by increasing taxes and boosting welfare spending.

According to latest data, the OECD said Denmark had the lowest inequality ratings, just in front of Sweden, while Mexico had the worst ratings, followed by Turkey.

"The increase in inequality, though widespread and significant, has not been as spectacular as most people probably think it has been," the 309-page report said.

"This difference between what the data shows and what people think no doubt partly reflects the so-called 'Hello magazine effect'," it added, saying that people read widely about the super rich and imagined many people lived the life of luxury.

Across the 24 OECD nations for which data was available, the cumulative increase in inequality was around 7 percent from the mid-1980s to mid-2000s, with most of the rise accounted for in the first decade.

It said this expansion was "not one that would justify talk about the breakdown of society."

However, the Paris-based group said government intervention had helped temper the increase in inequality.

"In developed countries, governments have been taxing more and spending more to offset the trend towards more inequality. They now spend more on social policies than at any time in history," it said.

Older people had benefitted the most from this redistribution of wealth, with those in the 55-75 age bracket seeing the biggest increases in incomes over the past 20 years, and pensioner poverty falling rapidly in many places.

By contrast, child poverty had increased, and is now above average for the population as a whole.

"This is despite mounting evidence that child wellbeing is a key determinant of how well someone will do as an adult, how much they will earn, how healthy they will be," the OECD said.

The report said income inequality in general had risen significantly since 2000 in countries such as Canada, Germany, Norway, the United States and Italy.

(Agencies)

(英語點津 Helen 編輯)