IMF report recognizes that inequality slows economic growth

Recently, a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was published that found that lower inequality in countries was associated with faster economic growth. An article was recently written commenting on this new report by those at The Nation. The IMF already has a reputation for its neoliberal approach to development, focusing mainly on shifting a developing countries burden to the middle and lower classes. This has been true in many cases over the past few decades in Argentina, Bolivia, and nearly the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. The notorious programs have devastated countries in the past and caused political crises as well as development to come to nearly a standstill when it comes to the middle and lower classes of these societies.

That being said it is unclear what the IMF will actually do with this new found knowledge as it currently stands, because this information turns all that the IMF has done in the past on its head. For the IMF to go from protecting major industry bosses and encouraging privatization to funding public health programs, education, and public sector jobs (all of which encourage greater equality) is probably not going to happen overnight. However, some change has already come as was referenced in the article which suggests that the IMF is likely on the right path when it comes to reworking its policies towards those that.....actually work.