Development Finance International

DRI and Oxfam launched the 2022 Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) report, the first detailed analysis of 161 governments’ actions to fight inequality during COVID-19. COVID has increased inequality worldwide, with the poorest hit hardest by the disease and its economic impacts. CRI 2022 shows clearly that most of the world’s governments failed to mitigate this dangerous rise in inequality. Half of lower-income countries saw health spending fall as a % of their budgets, half of countries cut the % of social protection spending, three quarters cut the % of education spending. In addition, two-thirds failed to increase minimum wages in line with GDP, and 95% failed to increase taxes on the richest people and corporations. Only a small group of governments bucked this trend, taking clear actions to combat inequality, putting the rest of the world to shame. For the English report and database, see here. For other language versions of the report, here.