Policy options

What should Asian policy makers do then to halt the trend of growing inequalities? The answer obviously depends on individual country circumstances but UNDP’s report provides interesting ideas on policy options that policy makers in Asia might favour. UNDP interviewed 363 policy makers in 15 developing countries, among them four from Asia: India, Philippines, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan. The policy makers were asked what policy measures they perceived as being the most relevant, both for reducing income inequality, as well as inequalities of opportunities. Most of the policy measures surveyed by UNDP were seen as relevant by over 50% of respondents, indicating that the inequality challenge requires a comprehensive set of policy measures. The prioritized measures for reducing income inequality were: reducing tax evasion, conditional cash transfers and subsidies to factors of production for small and medium-sized enterprises...

— blogs.adb.org/blog