Officials expect a narrowing rich-poor gap

The gap between the nation's rich and poor is expected to narrow, thanks to the recovery of the global economy and a series of government initiatives to revitalize the economy, officials said.

The findings, scheduled for release today by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, are based on household income data gathered during last year's census.

In 2002, the top 20 percent of wage earners earned an average 6.16 times the average income of the bottom 20 percent of wage earners, a multiple which the government hopes will be reduced to 6.05 for last year -- providing that economic growth reaches 3.06 percent, unemployment falls to 4.8 percent and welfare funding takes up 3.8 percent of the GDP.

Statistics that last year, economic growth reached 3.24 percent, unemployment fell to 4.99 percent and GDP amounted to US$295.9 billion and per capita GDP worked out at US$13,157.

Five contributed to this outcome, say officials: a better economic climate, a decrease in the number of disadvantaged families, an increase in income for low-income workers, rising employment among low-income families and effective social welfare programs.

Among the several initiatives the Cabinet adopted to boost the economy were the six-year national development project, the "Taiwan first" investment measure, NT$57.7 billion in public construction projects and NT$20 billion in public service programs.

One to gauge how effectively a nation distributes its wealth is to divide households into five categories based on disposable household income.

In 2002, the wealthiest one-fifth of the nation earned 6.16 times more than the poorest one-fifth, while that figure in 2001 was 6.39 -- a record high.

The year 1980 marked the narrowest gap between rich and poor, with a multiple of 4.17. The gap widened slightly during the 1990s before reaching the high in 2001.

The average annual disposable income in 2002 was NT$876,000 per household, or NT$7,000 more than the previous year's figure of NT$869,000.

The Gini coefficient -- the international standardized indicator of wealth distribution -- stood at 0.345 in 2002, down from 0.350 in 2001.

A lower coefficient means that the wealth of a nation is more evenly distributed. A score of 0.4 or higher is defined as a highly inequitable wealth distribution that can cause social instability.

The nation also enjoyed healthy economic growth in 2002, with a 3.6 percent growth rate, compared with 2.4 percent in 2001.