Regional Inequality

Introduction

Popular opinion indicates that economic inequality around the world is notably high and continuing to grow. With varying definitions of inequality, this opinion is both supported and unsupported by global data. This paper discusses regional inequality – the wealth of a region (either sub- or super-state) compared to the wealth of another region. This wealth can be measured using a variety of factors, but will often include either GDP, per capita GDP , or a comparison of household incomes by income level. For comparison, inequality can also be measured as social inequality – the measurement of unequal levels of wealth within a population. As these two measurements of inequality differ on what they analyze, it is possible for an

In 1975, a very large economic divide existed between the developed global north and the developing south. Graphing income distribution around the world revealed two peaks – one at $15 a day, driven by the developed economies of Europe and the Americas, and a second – much larger – peak at $0.80 a day, primarily due to the high poverty levels in Asia and Africa . These two dramatically distinct peaks demonstrate the pronounced regional economic inequality that then existed between developed and developing countries. Today, there is only one peak on the graph, at roughly $7 a day, driven by the industrialization of Asia . However, while inter-state regional economic inequality is decreasing, intra-state inequality between regions is increasing in nearly all cases. In this paper, I will analyze this changing regional inequality from both a intra- and inter-state level and will hypothesize the implications these changes will bring to the Global Order over the coming decades . First, on a global scale, I find a correlation between decreasing inter-state inequality (measured in GDP per capita) and increasing levels of international trade and cooperation between the same countries. This information suggests that poorer countries will seek to increase levels of international economic cooperation to improve their

By 2010, it had fallen 0.507 – an substantial drop. This was largely due to the rise of Asia – and primarily China – as a global superpower. In the same timeframe, China’s GDP per capita rose from 271.6 to 4560.5 , and Africa experienced a similar – though reduced – period of per capita GDP growth, driven by lowering birthrates and increasing economic growth. By comparing this growth to that of developed countries, the value of this data becomes apparent. Between 2000 and 2010, Sub-Saharan Africa has maintained a per capita GDP growth rate higher than North American for all but one year, and Europe for every single year. Asia has experienced the same increased growth, but at a much larger scale – in the same timeframe, Asia’s per capita GDP growth rate was never under 3% higher than North America or Europe’s . In this section of the paper, I will provide evidence that this increased growth in developing regions is not exogenous, but rather is a result of increased economic integration and cooperation with developed countries. This will be achieved by analyzing the case study of Europe – a region that has gone from relative disintegration following the second world war to being arguably the most economically integrated region in the world with the rise of the European