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Obstacles to progress

Realities

social policies, while ensuring that labor market institutions do not excessively penalize the

poor, can help raise the income share for the poor and the middle class.
***
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to tackling inequality. The nature of appropriate policies
depends on the underlying drivers and country-specific policy and institutional settings. In

advanced economies, policies should focus on reforms to increase human capital and skills,
coupled with making tax systems more progressive. In EMDCs, ensuring financial deepening is
accompanied with greater financial inclusion and creating incentives for lowering informality

would be important. More generally, complementarities between growth and income equality
objectives suggest that policies aimed at raising average living standards can also influence

the distribution of income and ensure a more inclusive prosperity “
"Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective." 166
Staff Discussion Notes, IMF

*****
“ Under IMF reforms, a third of Egyptians are living in poverty. But western institutions are
celebrating their 'success'. The IMF, World Bank, Bloomberg, and Financial Times, alongside big

investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, are celebrating Egypt's economic success.
***
It is quite interesting how the recent economic success in Egypt is associated with a
substantial increase in people living under the national poverty line. According to the latest

official Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey (HIECS), the poverty
headcount ratio jumped from 27.8% in 2015 to 32.5% in 2017, compared to 26.3% in 2012 as

well. Now, almost one third of the population is below the national poverty line. Egypt's
'success' story coincides with remarkable, yet unsurprising, economic phenomena. We have an
economy that grew by an average annual growth rate of 4.2 percent (GDP growth rate) and per

capita income grew by 2 percent (GDP per capita) during 2014-2018, the same period in which
more than six million people fell into poverty.

We also have an unemployment rate declining from 13.1% in 2014 to 8.1% in the first quarter of
2019, all of which doubtlessly indicates that millions of working Egyptians are receiving less

than the living wage, probably including those who recently entered the labour market.”
"Celebrating Poverty: The IMF in Egypt." 271
Open Democracy
"BBC NEWS
***** ***** *****

World Bank & IMF and Corporatisation

“ Corporatization refers to the restructuring or transformation of a state-owned asset or
organization into a corporation. These organizations typically have a board of directors,