Income Distribution and Population Growth

The question of income distribution, whether in relation to population growth or from some other angle, can be considered at various levels. There is the international or global distribution, essentially the problem of the ‘gap’ between the rich and poor countries; there is the question of income distribution within given developing countries which, in turn, has many different aspects: regional distribution, urban/rural distribution, income distribution within the rural or urban sector, distribution between economic sectors such as agriculture, industry, mining, etc.; distribution between the modern or ‘formal’ sector and the non-modern or ‘informal’ sector of the economy, etc. For each of these aspects can also be discussed and analysed either in relation to population growth in the country as a whole, or in the population or labour force attached to the particular sector under discussion. This paper concentrates on income distribution between rich and poor groups within developing countries; this is assumed to be the emphasis of the discussions at the meeting. But a few prior remarks on the international distribution of incomes may not be out of place.