Kevin Watkins, Brookings Institution, How should inequality feature in a post-2015 agreement?
Channel: ODI
Date: 2013-04-23

A widely-acknowledged limitation of the Millennium Development Goals is a neglect of inequality -- it is argued that the targets encouraged a focus on 'low hanging fruit', those people that were easiest to reach. In the run-up to 2015, a great deal of debate has highlighted this neglect and considered the many ways in which inequality might feature in a new global agreement. At this meeting, which takes place shortly after the UN-facilitated Global Consultation on Addressing Inequalities and precedes a meeting of its Advisory Group, we invite panelists and discussants to give their own insights and suggest proposals. The presentations will address three aspects of this debate:

Putting the Gini back in the Bottle - 'The Palma' as a new inequality measure
New research proposes the 'Palma' measure (a ratio of the incomes of the top 10 per cent to the bottom 40 per cent) as more intuitive and policy-relevant than the commonly used Gini coefficient for tracking inequality, and argues for its inclusion in a post-2015 framework. 

Incorporating inequalities associated with disability, mental health & older age
Work being undertaken by the 'Voices of the Marginalized' NGO consortium (ADD International, HelpAge International, Sightsavers) with Institute of Development Studies is eliciting the inputs of people affected by these issues through participatory action research in Bangladesh. Gender disparities were a focus of the MDGs but other sources of inequality were largely overlooked. How can a new agreement reflect the needs of a broader range of disadvantaged groups?

Prospects for a post-2015 agreement to tackle universal inequalities
Bringing about more equity is one of the greatest development challenges of our age but complexity should not be a pretext for inertia. Bold ambition and political commitment is needed. Goals should be universal and wide-ranging and consider concrete targets such as limiting income differences among rich and poor, and eliminating wealth and gender gaps in areas such as child survival, antenatal care and school participation. 

Speakers:
Alex Cobham -- Research Fellow, Center for Global Development (CGD) 
Marion Steff -- Policy Advisor for Social Inclusion, Sightsavers
Kevin Watkins -- Senior Fellow, Centre for Universal Education, Brookings Institution

Discussants:
Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva -- Head of Research, Oxfam GB
Naila Kabeer -- Professor of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)

Chair:
Claire Melamed -- Head of Programme, Growth, Poverty and Inequality, ODI