ABSTRACT
This whole phenomenon can be viewed as a resource problem relating to differ ential environmental degradation over the globe, or as a problem of social class inequity. It does not easily lend itself to considerations of 'average' consumption of one nation, compared to another, because the greatest discrepancies in consump tion are often found within the poorest nations. On the other hand high GNP per capita doesn't necessarily lead to greater equality. If we were to measure the outcomes in terms of how much more money the richest 20% of a nation's population has than its poorest 20%, we get the following ratios as of 1985 (World Bank, 1997):
• India 5:1 • Indonesia 5:1 • Bangladesh 4:1 • Great Britain 6:1 • Australia 6:1.
