The twin phenomenon of rising wealth and growing inequality has become the defining feature of the world economy in recent years. Wealth is getting concentrated in fewer hands, while on the other hand, a majority of countries in Asia and Africa are becoming poorer.

According to the World Bank’s new Changing Wealth of Nations report released recently, global wealth has grown overall, but at the cost of future prosperity and by exacerbating inequalities. The report says that countries that are depleting their resources in favour of short-term gains are putting their economies on an unsustainable development path. While indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are traditionally used to measure economic growth, the report underlines the importance of considering natural, human, and produced capital to understand whether growth is real and sustainable.

Breaking new ground, the Changing Wealth of Nations 2021 tracks the wealth of 146 countries between 1995 and 2018, by measuring the economic value of renewable natural capital (such as forests, cropland, and ocean resources), non-renewable natural capital (such as minerals and fossil fuels), human capital (earnings over a person’s lifetime), produced capital (such as buildings and infrastructure), and net foreign assets. The report accounts for blue natural capital—in the form of mangroves and ocean fisheries—for the first time.

According to the report, global wealth grew significantly between 1995 and 2018, and middle-income countries are catching up to high-income countries. However, growing prosperity has been accompanied by unsustainable management of some natural assets. Low- and middle-income countries saw their forest wealth per capita decline 8% from 1995 to 2018, reflecting significant deforestation. Meanwhile, the value of global marine fish stocks collapsed by 83% due to poor management and overfishing over the same period. The projected impacts of climate change may exacerbate these trends.

To quote World Bank Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships, Mari Pangestu: “A deeper and more nuanced understanding of the sustainability of wealth is crucial to a green, resilient, and inclusive future. It is essential that renewable natural capital and human capital are given the same importance as more traditional sources of economic growth, so that policymakers take steps to enable long-term prosperity.”

Among other things, mispricing of assets like carbon-emitting fossil fuels is leading to overvaluation and over-consumption. The World Bank argues that development can be put on a more sustainable path by taking a comprehensive view of wealth and putting in place policy measures including carbon pricing to better value and nurture assets such as forests, mangroves, and human capital.

It is a matter of special concern that global wealth inequality is growing; low-income countries’ share of global wealth has changed little from 1995 to 2018, remaining below 1% of the world’s wealth, despite having around 8% of the world’s population. Over one-third of low-income countries saw declining wealth per capita. Countries with declining wealth tend also to be degrading their base of renewable natural assets. For low-income countries, appropriately managing renewable natural capital, which accounts for 23% of their wealth, remains crucial.

The report notes that globally the share of total wealth in renewable natural capital (forests, cropland, and ocean resources) is decreasing and being further threatened by climate change. At the same time, renewable natural capital is becoming more valuable as it provides crucial ecosystem services. For example, the value of mangroves for coastal flood protection has grown more than 2.5 times since 1995 to over $547 billion in 2018. The value of protected areas per square kilometer has also rapidly increased.

The report shows that human capital, measured as the population’s expected lifetime earnings, is the largest source of worldwide wealth, comprising 64% of total global wealth in 2018. Middle-income countries increased their investment in human capital and in turn saw significant increases in their share of global human capital wealth.

According to the report, although the long-lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still unknown, low-income countries are likely to experience the most severe impacts, with a projected loss of 14% of total human capital. Human capital is additionally constrained by gender gaps across all regions and income groups, with little improvement since 1995. Air quality also has serious consequences for both human capital and climate change, and accounts for over 6 million premature deaths annually.

Of equal concern is the fact that non-renewable natural capital wealth (minerals, fossil fuels) has declined since 2014, mainly due to falling commodity prices. The report looks at the projected impacts of a low-carbon transition and border carbon adjustment taxes on fossil fuel wealth and provides recommendations for managing the economic risks posed for resource-dependent countries. Countries that are heavily dependent on fossil fuel wealth were found to have lower shares of wealth from human capital, despite their high income levels, with human capital only comprising 34% of their wealth.

The report lists several priorities for policymakers to diversify and rebalance their national portfolios to be more resilient and sustainable. It recommends actively investing in public goods like education, health, and nature, to prevent unsustainable depletion, and manage future risks. Recommendations also include policy and pricing measures that help reflect the social value of assets and to steer private investment towards better outcomes for all. Of particular value in this connection are actions like repurposing fisheries subsidies, and taking action to promote renewable energy assets.