03:11USA: Income inequality is bad for sustainable growth, says IMF's Lagarde
Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said "that excessive inequality is actually bad for sustainable growth," during a discussion organised by the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, on Tuesday.
The IMF head detailed recent studies conducted by her organisation, which showed that sustainable growth is caused by increasing the income of the lower 20 percent of a population rather than the highest 20 of society. She is set to present these findings to the Sustainable Development Summit, in New York on September 25.
Lagarde also spoke of her observations on gender equality, stating she was "shocked" to find 90 of countries, under the review of the IMF, had "pieces of legislation or pieces of their constitution that actually discriminate against women." Lagarde went on, declaring that by removing this "constitutional discrimination" GDP "grew by five percent."
Finally Lagarde outlined threats to the world economy, listing both "the low commodity prices" and the "slowdown of Chinese growth" as the chief concerns. She claimed that the IMF "are analysing" these factors at the moment.
03:11Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said "that excessive inequality is actually bad for sustainable growth," during a discussion organised by the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, on Tuesday.
The IMF head detailed recent studies conducted by her organisation, which showed that sustainable growth is caused by increasing the income of the lower 20 percent of a population rather than the highest 20 of society. She is set to present these findings to the Sustainable Development Summit, in New York on September 25.
Lagarde also spoke of her observations on gender equality, stating she was "shocked" to find 90 of countries, under the review of the IMF, had "pieces of legislation or pieces of their constitution that actually discriminate against women." Lagarde went on, declaring that by removing this "constitutional discrimination" GDP "grew by five percent."
Finally Lagarde outlined threats to the world economy, listing both "the low commodity prices" and the "slowdown of Chinese growth" as the chief concerns. She claimed that the IMF "are analysing" these factors at the moment.