The social and political challenges posed by “middle class” stagnation in developed economies represent a major uncertainty threatening the global economy today, according to Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's deputy prime minister and finance minister.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Skybridge Alternatives Conference in Singapore, Mr. Tharman said questions of income inequality and intergenerational equity in developed markets will require “major acts of political reform,” rather than piecemeal solutions advanced “one election at a time.”
If such solutions aren't forthcoming, it will be hard to sustain the growth of the middle class in emerging economies, Mr. Tharman warned.
The fact that promises made in earlier times have proved unsustainable must be faced honestly, Mr. Tharman said.
