Global Looting – A Snapshot

The gap between rich and poor has widened massively over the past 30 years, not only within countries but also between countries, with significant negative impacts on health, welfare and social inclusion. Such inequality does not come about by accident or simple mismanagement. As UK journalist and commentator Will Hutton comments, inequality is best understood as “a proxy for how effectively an elite has constructed institutions that extract value from the rest of society.”

Public-private partnerships, the backbone of the current drive to build infrastructure projects around the world, are one such set of institutions, with important implications for activism.

A background paper (for a forthcoming book on the use and consequences of public-private partnerships in infrastructure) details the stark divide between rich and poor nationally, regionally and internationally. The paper is available upon request.