Social Issues - Research Paper Example

However that is not the case. On the contrary has been the cause of radical growth in the middle class population in these countries, which in turn has caused a huge income disparity that has succeeded in swelling the ranks of those individuals living below the poverty line. According to many research studies carried out by the United Nations 25% of the world’s population either owns or controls 75% of the total world income while the poorest 75% of the population has access to the remaining 25% of the world’s income.

42% of the world population mainly living in countries like India, China and Brazil, earned less than $1000 dollars a year (“United Nations”, 2004). . This 42% made up 2.4 billion individuals worldwide, which is almost half the world population and they earned or had access only to a meager 9% of the world’s income (Cornia, 2004). Through the study the author found that some of the key reasons for income disparity in the developing world was the lack of skills and educational opportunities to the poorer segments of society when compared to those opportunities that were available to richer segments.

Factors such as politics, corruption, exploitation and simple ignorance were also cited as causes for income inequalities in the developed world. While it can be argued that the globalization and off shoring has indeed helped to spur growth in these economies and create the “middle class”, it is still vital to remember that the income earned from such ventures by the bulk of the individuals working in these offshore plants is minimal in comparison to the salaries earned by their counterparts in the developed countries (Ming, 2001).

If we take for instance a company like Marks and Spencer Clothes Manufacturing or Clothes suppliers to Walmart and George (ASDA’s name brand), the individuals working in the factories in China that produce these products amount