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Let’s run some numbers for the bottom half. I don’t know what they mean by income data, but let’s use the GDP as a proxy. 2025 GDP (Current USD) - $3.5Tn (act
by addicted 2y ago
Let’s run some numbers for the bottom half.
I don’t know what they mean by income data, but let’s use the GDP as a proxy.
2025
GDP (Current USD) - $3.5Tn (actually 2023, but it’s probably still close)
Population - 1.45Bn
Bottom Half Population - 725mm
Bottom Half share - 15%
Bottom half share of GDP - $525Bn
Bottom half GDP per capita - $725
1990
GDP (current USD) - $320Bn
Population - 870mm
Bottom Half population - 435mm
Bottom Half Share - 22.2%
Bottom Half Share of GDP - $71Bn
Bottom Half GDP per capita - $163
So the bottom half per capita GDP in current USD has risen from $163 to $725, almost a 4.5x increase.
The increase in inequality is not good, but this isn’t the economic catastrophe for India’s poor that this article is presenting it as. In fact, a 4.5x increase in per capita income in 35 years is a significant achievement for a country of Indias size and diversity. It of course pales in comparison to what China has achieved, but what doesn’t pale in comparison to what China has achieved.
- anigbrowl 2y agoI question the utility of GDP as a proxy here. Unless it takes account of purchasing power, it seems to me that those nominal gains could easily have been inflated away. The average inflation over that period has been ~7%. https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/ind/india/inflation-rate-cpi https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/ind/ind... The problem with income inequality is that the pie is unlikely to keep growing forever, but your part of it can definitely keep shrinking. The underlying report goes into more detail of the mechanics. https://marcellus.in/blogs/indias-middle-class-is-losing-ground-to-the-rich-and-the-poor/ https://marcellus.in/blogs/indias-middle-class-is-losing-gro... (to read it you have to affirm that you're not in the US, since the content could be construed as investment advice - this seems excessively cautious to me, but if you say you are in the US it will boot you to a generic landing page)
- bjkkkjduid 2y ago[dead]
- ashoeafoot 2y agohttps://news.climate.columbia.edu/wp-content/data-viz/heat-humidity-map/ https://news.climate.columbia.edu/wp-content/data-viz/heat-h... becoming longterm uninhabitable ?
- duxup 2y agoAccording to the article the folks at the bottom have no room for discretionary spending. So that increase they're getting, where is it going?