Distance still wide between rich, poor

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LONDON (AP) -- The richest 2 percent of adults still own more than half of the world's household wealth, perpetuating a yawning global gap between rich and poor, according to research published yesterday.

The report from the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research shows that in 2000 the richest 1 percent of adults -- most of whom live in Europe or the United States -- owned 40 percent of global assets.

The richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85 percent of assets, the report said.

By contrast, the bottom 50 percent of the world's adult population owned barely 1 percent of the world's wealth.

"Income inequality has been rising for the past 20 to 25 years and we think that is true for inequality in the distribution of wealth," said James Davies, a professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario, one of the report's authors.

"There is a whole group of problems in developing countries that make it difficult for people to build up assets, which are important, since life is so precarious."

The gulf between rich and poor nations has long concerned politicians and economists, who say it is one of the biggest obstacles to development.

But Mr. Davies said there are some hopeful signs: China and India, which are developing rapidly, are gaining wealth, and in countries like Bangladesh, the spread of micro-credit institutions is helping people to increase their personal wealth, he said.

In other countries, land registration programs allow the poor to own land for the first time, he said.