BRICS meet at tipping point in global economic inequality

London

THE heads of government for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) met last weekend in Goa for the group's 8th annual summit. Reform of the global financial architecture was a key agenda item, including expanding the role of emerging economies in the IMF (International Monetary Fund), and the BRICS also agreed to set up a new credit rating agency.

The leaders, who stressed the continuing resilience of their economies, met during a potentially pivotal, and overall positive, moment in the battle against global economic inequality. Remarkable World Bank research indicates that, for the first time in some two centuries, overall global income inequality - one of but not the only measure of economic inequality - appears to be declining. The contrast here is striking with what has been a wild pol…