To clarify (since Simpson's paradox really only applies when tracking the average of a single variable, not its "inequality", or standard devation): The local

To clarify (since Simpson's paradox really only applies when tracking the average of a single variable, not its "inequality", or standard devation): The local increases in income inequality don't contradict global decreases because populations are mixing between countries. If an average American moves to Zambia and an average Zambian moves to America, the result is that the income gap of both nations increases, while the worldwide income gap remains the same.