The rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer in Asia/Pacific: as Senior Adviser and Head of Special Unit for Countries with Special Needs, UNESCAP, Raj Kumar believes the divide between rich and poor in Asia is growing out of control. He sees Asia-Pacific emerging as a 4-tier region, with disparities widening rather than reducing, and he's concerned. Mr Kumar shares his thoughts with Business Asia magazine.(ASIA PACIFIC)(Viewpoint essay)

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Since the advent of globalization, the Asia-Pacific region has made striking progress in both the economic and social spheres. On average, in the past two decades, the performance of Asia-Pacific has been far above the other regions of the world. However, when a comparison is made within and across the Asia-Pacific region, large disparities can be found on both the economic and social fronts.

It is estimated that the economic disparity, as measured by real per capita income, could increase from 9 times in 2005 to 71 times in 2015 between the best and the worst performing nations of the Asia-Pacific region. With this large disparity, the impressive performance of Asia-Pacific may not be sustainable in the long-run. And, according to Mr. Kumar, "these disparities may lead to instability and could be a breeding ground for conflict."

Given the dynamism and resilience of the Asia-Pacific region, as observed during the Asian financial crisis of late 1990s, a recent study noted that through regional cooperation and South-South collaboration this region has the capacity to address the challenges of prevailing socioeconomic disparities within and across the region.

In light of the above, various possible cooperation mechanisms are currently being explored to address the disparity issues. The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the commitments of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Round of Trade negotiations are some of the international initiatives to promote more inclusive development, but there are no guarantees that they will deliver a better distribution of economic and social benefits. In the current fuel and food crisis, the poorest countries are the hardest hit.