Rigged From Birth: How inequality steals futures in Asia and the five public services that can reverse it
Overview
Asia’s inequality crisis is also a public services crisis. Across 19 Asian economies, the poorest half of the population earns less than the richest 1%. Decades of ‘growth at any cost’, privatization and austerity have starved public services, leaving access to care, social protection, health, education and digital services decided by ability to pay. Yet inequality is a political choice. This paper shows how universal, high-quality public services, financed through progressive taxation, can break the vicious cycle of inequality. It calls on Asian governments to make public provision the default and fund it fairly.
Additional details
Publisher(s)
DOI
10.21201/2026.000157How to cite this resource
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