Wealth disparity in the world’s fastest-growing large economy is at its highest in decades, economists argue in a new research paper

经济学家在一份新的研究论文中指出,世界上增长最快的大型经济体的贫富差距达到数十年来的最高水平

India’s richest 1% of the population earned 22% of the country’s income and held 40% of its wealth during the last financial year, a new study published this week has suggested. These levels are “historically high” for India and even above those of developed economies such as the US, the paper notes.

本周公布的一项新研究显示,在上一财年,印度最富有的1%人口赚取了全国22%的收入,持有全国40%的财富。该报告指出,这些水平对印度来说是“历史高位”,甚至高于美国等发达经济体。

The research paper, co-authored by economists Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, and Anmol Somanchi, claims that wealth in India, the fastest-growing large economy globally, is largely concentrated among the richest 1% of the population, whom they refer to as India’s modern bourgeoisie. They claim that the wealth distribution in the country is now more unequal than during British colonial rule.

这份由经济学家 Kumar Bharti、Lucas Chancel、Thomas Piketty和Anmol Somanchi共同撰写的研究报告称,作为全球增长最快的大型经济体,印度的财富主要集中在最富有的1%人口中,他们将这些人称为印度的现代资产阶级。他们声称该国现在的财富分配比英国殖民统治时期更不平等。

“In 2022-23, 22.6% of national income went to just the top 1%, the highest level recorded in our series since 1922, higher than even during the inter-war colonial period. The top 1% wealth share stood at 40.1% in 2022-23, also at its highest level since 1961 when our wealth series begins,” the study says.

“在2022-23年,22.6%的国民收入落入了最富有的1%的人手中,这是自1922年以来的最高水平,甚至比两次世界大战之间的殖民时期还要高。在2022-23年,前1%的财富份额为40.1%,这也是自1961年我们的财富系列开始以来的最高水平。”

Citing data from the Forbes billionaire rankings, the paper said the number of Indians with net wealth exceeding $1 billion increased from one in 1991 to 162 in 2022. Over this period, the total net wealth of these individuals as a share of India’s net national income surged from under 1% in 1991 to a whopping 25% in 2022.

该报援引《福布斯》亿万富翁排行榜的数据称,净财富超过10亿美元的印度人从1991年的1人增加到2022年的162人。在此期间,这些人的总净财富占印度国民净收入的比例从1991年的不到1%飙升至2022年的25%。

At present, India’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, who is also the richest in Asia, has a net worth of $114 billion. He was recently in the news for hosting a lavish wedding for his son that was attended by dozens of international celebrities, including Bill Gates, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Blackrock co-founder Larry Fink, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Ivanka Trump, and others.

目前,印度首富穆克什·安巴尼(Mukesh Ambani)也是亚洲首富,他的净资产为1140亿美元。他最近上了新闻,因为他为儿子举办了一场奢华的婚礼,几十位国际名人参加了婚礼,包括比尔·盖茨、Meta的马马克·扎克伯格、贝莱德联合创始人 Larry Fink,、Alphabet首席执行官undar Pichai,、Ivanka Trum等人。

Despite the reported disparities in income, the Indian economy is growing robustly and is poised to become the third largest in the world within the next three years. The country’s GDP grew 8.4% between October and December 2023, the fastest pace of increase in six quarters.

尽管存在收入差距,但印度经济增长强劲,有望在未来三年内成为世界第三大经济体。该国的GDP在2023年10月至12月期间增长了8.4%,是六个季度以来最快的增长速度。

The country’s central bank, in its latest bulletin, noted that India can maintain its 8% GDP growth given the favorable macroeconomic environment.

印度央行在最新公报中指出,鉴于有利的宏观经济环境,印度可以保持8%的GDP增长。

Meanwhile, the federal government has introduced initiatives in an attempt to improve the quality of lives for those considered “poor.” In January, 30 cities were identified to be made “free of beggary” by 2026 as part of the Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprises scheme. New Delhi is also setting up a high-powered committee to consider the challenges arising from “fast population growth and demographic changes.”

与此同时,联邦政府推出了一些举措,试图改善那些被认为是“穷人”的生活质量。今年1月,作为支持边缘化个人生计和企业计划的一部分,30个城市被确定到2026年实现“无乞讨”。新德里还将成立一个高级委员会,考虑“人口快速增长和人口结构变化”带来的挑战。

In 2023, a report on poverty by the government advisory body NITI Aayog said the country had lifted 135 million Indians out of poverty in the previous five years. According to a UNDP report published last year, multidimensional poverty fell from 25 to 15% between 2015-16 and 2019-21.

2023年,政府咨询机构NITI Aayog的一份关于贫困的报告称,在过去的五年里,印度已经让1.35亿印度人摆脱了贫困。根据联合国开发计划署去年发布的一份报告,2015-16年至2019-21年期间,多维贫困率从25%降至15%。