drop in income inequality since the 1980s, notwithstanding some spikes in the
aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in Thailand and in the run-up to the global
financial crisis in 2008/2009 in Malaysia. This pattern of change implies that the
rising inequality in the region is driven primarily by the extent to which incomes
of the rich surge at a faster pace than those of the poor. This also highlights that in
the context of Southeast Asia, gains from swift economic development have not
been shared widely.