This chapter brings out the following main findings: first and foremost, impressive
economic performance and large poverty reduction in many parts of the
region have been coupled with increases in or persistently high income inequality.
While this pattern characterizes overall development in Southeast Asia, the
level of inequality and pace of its change differ from country to country. Second,
the decomposition analysis shows that growth has been unevenly distributed
along a range of dimensions, pointing to various proximate drivers of inequality.
Third, the structural drivers, particularly trade and financial liberalization, have
had impacts on inequality in Southeast Asia. The chapter also looks at policy
drivers of inequality, in particular government spending on social programs and
governance and institutional quality.