The initiative follows the publication of the first global inequality report compiled by a group of independent experts led by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. The work was commissioned during SA’s 2025 Presidency of the G20, as Pretoria sought to elevate inequality as a central item on the bloc’s agenda.
Speaking to Channel Africa following the launch, Professor Jayati Ghosh, an Economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a member of the panel’s founding committee, said rising inequality cannot be attributed to domestic choices alone. National policy, Ghosh argued, often reflects “international processes and architecture”, with global rules shaping outcomes particularly for low-and middle-income countries.
Ghosh highlighted what the report describes as a sharp concentration of gains at the top of the income ladder, warning that this trend is transforming economic inequality into political power. According to figures cited in the discussions, the top 1% of the world’s population captured more than 40% of the increase in wealth over the past quarter-century, while the bottom half received only 1%. Ghosh added that about 93% of the global population lives in countries characterised by high inequality.
Another key finding, Ghosh said, is that public wealth has stagnated while private wealth has surged, a pattern linked to privatisation, policy incentives that favour large corporations, and crisis responses that prioritise major financial institutions over households.
The proposed panel aims to function in a manner comparable to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, producing regular assessments to support public understanding and policy action. Organisers said four governments are championing the proposal, with support signalled by a message from the UN secretary-general. Nearly 40 experts from multiple disciplines took part in initial deliberations on scope and governance.
Ghosh warned that extreme inequality is also undermining efforts to address climate and ecological shocks, arguing that sustained public mobilisation will be needed to shift policy.
–ChannelAfrica–
