Mr. Michael Foerster, OECD Social Policy Analyst was invited as special lecturer at GSIS on July 3, 2015. He gave special lecture on 「In it together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All」. He mentioned that today, in OECD countries, the richest 10% of the population earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10% and in several emerging economies, particularly in Latin America, income inequality has narrowed, but income gaps remain generally higher than in OECD countries.
He also mentioned that higher inequality drags down economic growth and harms opportunities. Temporary and part-time work and self-employment now account for about a third of total employment in OECD countries. He said high wealth concentration limits investment opportunities. and wealth is much more concentrated than income: on average, the 10% of wealthiest households hold half of total wealth, the next 50% hold almost the other half, while the 40% least wealthy own little over 3 %.