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Inequality in the world grew with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Oxfam International, which proposes additional taxes for the great fortunes. This Monday began the annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland. This is the summary of the day.
The warning about an “inequality explosion” garnered much of the attention on the first day of the 2023 World Economic Forum, a space designed more than half a decade ago to address the world’s major economic problems.
The NGO Oxfam International published its most recent annual report on Monday, in which it highlights that 1% of the population accumulated an additional fortune of more than 42 billion dollars, more than double that of the remaining 99%, and seized two thirds of of wealth since 2020.
Oxfam estimates that the wealth of the most privileged minority adds up to $2.7 billion every day, while the wages of some 1.7 billion workers are growing below inflation.
Business leaders point to the recession
Hours before the official start of the meeting of leaders, the World Economic Forum released a survey of presidents of large corporations, which concluded that two thirds of them believe that there will be a global recession in 2023 and 18% consider it “extremely probable”. .
Private sector leaders who participated in the analysis acknowledged that they plan to cut costs significantly in response to the negative economic environment, although they are optimistic about inflation, which they believe has already peaked in 2022.
The outlook is especially pessimistic for Europe, where 100% of those surveyed foresee “weak or very weak” economic growth this year, a percentage that drops to 91% in the case of the United States, 68% in Latin America and 48%. % in China.
The World Economic Forum survey was based on 22 responses from a group of senior economists from international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, investment banks, multinationals and reinsurance groups.
US and China ready to smooth things over
Paradoxically, the World Economic Forum, which brings together more than 2,700 leaders – most of them politicians and businessmen – is not attended this year by the heads of the world’s largest economies: the United States and China.
Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping declined the invitation, but instead sent a large delegation.
Although she will not participate in the forum, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for the first time in person in Switzerland on Wednesday as part of a commitment by both countries to work to ease tensions following President Joe Biden’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Indonesia in November.
Yellen has repeatedly criticized Beijing, now the world’s biggest creditor, for not moving faster to restructure the debt of poor countries in Africa and often expresses concern about forced labor used in China’s Xinjiang province.
In July, when it spoke to Liu by phone, the Treasury Department said it also spoke “frankly” about the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the world economy and China’s “unfair and non-trade” economic practices.
In Yellen’s absence, other top US officials will represent Washington in Davos, including US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and climate envoy John Kerry.
