En 2020, the global Gini coefficient, which measures inequality between the inhabitants of the planet on a scale from zero (perfect equality) to 100 (one individual owns all the resources), was 62.6. While projections suggested the continuation of the downward trend recorded since 1990, when the coefficient was at 70, in 2020 we witnessed the largest increase in global inequality since 1990: +0.6 in a single year . The most recent data from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality platform show that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused the largest increase in global extreme poverty in decades, 23 million more people in 2022 compared to 2019.
The increasingly frequent and simultaneous crises in the economic, political, environmental, religious and social fields have led to the coining of the term “polycrisis”. This polycrisis threatens social cohesion and democratic institutions. State interventions and international cooperation have failed to respond effectively. Trust in governments is declining: less than half of the population in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries trusts their governments, while in Latin America and the Caribbean only a third of its people trust him.
This loss of trust reflects an institutional crisis that diminishes our ability to take collective action around common goals. However, countries need to implement sustainable solutions, based on sustainable responses. The crisis of confidence can, however, be reversed by agreeing on approaches and agreeing on actions that help define trajectories and resolve structural problems.
Measuring unpaid work
To begin, we need to define the prosperity we want.
To measure our progress, we have until recently focused almost exclusively on gross domestic product (GDP), or GDP per capita. The permanent search for profit has led us to confuse means and ends. We need to measure more precisely what we value so that we can make the necessary transformations. We can’t change what we can’t see, and we can’t see what we don’t measure.
One of the main determinants of the quality of life that a person can achieve is the “capabilities” that it is capable of mobilizing, as suggested by Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen. This approach describes the resources and means implemented by individuals and communities to achieve well-being. Most capabilities are formed during early childhood and families play a crucial role in their production.
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