[ti:International Lender Urges Gains for Poor, Middle Class] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:Economics Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report. [00:04.80]A new report says income inequality [00:09.27]is hurting the potential for growth around the world. [00:13.16]It says the best way to deal with the inequality -- or lack of fairness -- [00:19.99]is by helping poor people and the middle class. [00:23.79]The report is based on an International Monetary Fund study. [00:29.14]It examined the issue of income inequality: [00:32.73]the differences in wealth between the rich and everyone else. [00:38.09]Opinions about income inequality are not hard to find. [00:42.87]Many people are concerned about the issue. [00:47.51]Kalpana Kochhar is Deputy Director of Strategy, [00:52.17]Policy and Review Department at the IMF. [00:56.30]On Monday, she said, [00:59.33]"The gap between the rich and the poor [01:02.24]is at the highest level in decades in advanced countries, [01:07.26]and inequality is also rising in major emerging markets." [01:13.74]The new report is called "Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: [01:21.49]A Global Perspective." [01:24.27]Ms. Kochhar said, inequality trends have been mixed [01:28.92]in emerging markets and developing countries. [01:32.99]Some countries are experiencing falling inequality rates, [01:38.32]with poor people and the middle class making gains. [01:42.80]However, pervasive inequities in education, health care, [01:49.10]and finance remain in areas such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa. [01:56.86]The report suggested that policymakers [02:01.55]direct their attention on the poor and middle class. [02:06.01]That is because they are the major force for economic growth -- [02:11.11]or an increase in a country's gross domestic product, or GDP. [02:17.22]The GDP is the value of all the finished goods [02:22.31]and services produced within the country. [02:25.33]The organizers of the study disputed the main idea [02:30.10]of what has been called "trickle down" economic theory. [02:33.91]The theory states that economic benefits provided [02:38.45]to the wealthy will indirectly help everyone else. [02:42.29]The idea is that money and other financial resources will "trickle down" to them. [02:49.66]The IMF study, however, shows the opposite is true. [02:55.43]It found that a one percent increase in the earnings [02:59.83]of the richest 20 percent of people [03:03.06]led to a nearly one percent decrease in GDP growth over a five-year period. [03:10.08]An increase in the income share of the poorest 20 percent, [03:14.68]the study found, led to more than a one-third percent increase in GDP. [03:20.79]Kalpana Kochhar said this means that directing policy [03:26.58]to the poor and middle class is good for growth. [03:30.46]She said this means that ending poverty could also improve growth prospects for all. [03:38.20]She said that is "a fairly powerful message" [03:42.09]for policymakers and researchers around the world. [03:46.43]The report said there is no single program that will succeed in all countries. [03:53.57]It said the difference in income levels can have different reasons. [03:59.23]The report urged governments to find ways to solve the problem [04:04.49]that are specific to their own countries and institutions. [04:10.60]And that's the Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter. [04:15.64]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com