The Expanding Middle: The Exploding World Middle Class and Falling Global Inequality
July 2008
We are in the middle of an unprecedented explosion in the ‘world middle class’, but the pace will pick up significantly further. And global income distribution is getting narrower, not wider. So while there is a lot of focus on widening inequality and the embattled middle class in developed countries, globally the opposite is true.
This story of what we call the ‘Expanding Middle’ – a shift in income towards middle-income countries and people – should accelerate. By 2030, two billion new people may join the world middle class. These shifts could be a significant influence on spending patterns, resource use, and environmental and political pressures.
>> The Expanding Middle: The Exploding World Middle Class and Falling Global Inequality July 2008 [PDF, 237KB]