Asian Prosperity and Inequality: Gains and Injuries of Success

During the past decade or so, the Asian region has experienced rapid growth and expansion. While rising prosperity has led to poverty reduction, social inequality has also widened within and across societies. This paper will interrogate and differentiate the drivers of growth and inequality and its varying consequences to different income groups in the region. In particular, a sizeable lower middle class is fueling the growth of urban economies. By examining the differential gains of economic success within and across income classes, particularly among the emerging middle class, the paper characterizes the intersecting/intertwining social injuries of prosperity, poverty and inequality. In doing so, the paper extends the understanding of injuries of income inequality from the physical to the social and political.