Social and economic inequality within and among nations also results in large part because governments are not sharing the benefits of development programs with local communities. This can be accomplished through revenue-sharing, or by earmarking a percentage of profits for local governments. Without such activities, the inequalities of development will continue to be compounded. In most cases, private investment is held less accountable. There is a clear need to establish better accountability for both large and small transnational corporations.
Many smaller corporations have the most egregious records for exploiting the poor.
Nevertheless, development banks require a significant realignment of their policies and programs to meet the needs of the changing world. Those living in poverty are disenfranchised from participating in development decisions that affect their lives. The banks must address the bias of donor countries, such as Japan's preference for funding physical infrastructure projects that often have the highest social and environmental costs. Finally, development banks and governments have only recently started paying attention to poverty. This has largely resulted from the realization that the global community will no longer allow the world's economy to be built on the backs of the 1.3 billion people, primarily women and children, who live on less than a dollar a day.