For Asia to tackle income inequality, economic growth is not enough

THERE is far less talk now than in the past about the Asian "economic miracle". Not only have growth rates in the region moderated as the economic base has expanded but also it is becoming increasingly clear that growth has come at the cost of rising income inequality across the region.

The severity of this inequality is clear from a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper which makes surprising and disturbing reading. Though it does not say so in so many words, the paper implies that future growth and possibly social stability could suffer if policymakers don't address the problem. These findings are the more disturbing for the fact that, historically…