Distribution of Wealth III

 

Adventures of Robin Hood Theme

Robin Hood, Robin Hood,
Riding through the glen,
Robin Hood, Robin Hood,
With his band of men,
Feared by the bad, loved by the good,
Robin Hood! Robin Hood! Robin Hood!

Where is Robin Hood when you need him?

According to the Global Wealth Databook published by USB, the world has become wealthier but more inequitable in the distribution of that wealth. In 2000, that databook reported that the adult population of the 164 markets, mostly countries, was 3.8 billion and the wealth of those markets was 118 Trillion of US Dollars. In 2022, the most recent year reported, the adult population increased to 5.1 billion. a growth of 42 percent, but the wealth had increased to 450 trillion of US Dollars. Even adjusting for inflation, this is equivalent to $256 trillion in 2000 US Dollars, a growth of 117 percent.

The distribution of that wealth also became less equitable. The ratio of the mean to median wealth per adult is a good indication of the equitable distribution in each market. That index has been weighted by the size of the population of each market. On that basis the weighted Equity Index (the ratio of the mean to the median, weighted by the population for each market in 2000 is as shown below.

It changed to that shown below in 2022.

While the extremes in the smaller markets of Bahrain, Bahamas and Brunei dropped in the intervening years,  the total inequity increased, and the variance in in the distribution of wealth also has increased. The Equity Index in the United States changed from 4.7 in 2000 to 5.1 in 2022. This ratio of the mean to the median is NOT changed by restating in inflation adjusted dollars. It appears that as total wealth increased, this has been accompanied primarily by an increase in the variance of the distribution of that wealth.