Who has actually gained from globalisation?

An interesting restatement from Branko Milanovic of his earlier work on who has actually gained from the process of globalisation. In effect, absolutely everyone except those on around and about less than median income in the already rich countries as that chart shows. Or, in more detail, it can be seen here.

Real incomes more than doubled between 1988 and 2011

That's globally of course, but that's a vast improvement. 

...it is still the first time since 1820 that global inequality is deemed to have gone down..

For those that worry about inequality that is also a vast improvement. It seems there really is something to this neoliberal globalisation thing then. In detail:

...but whatever adjustment one does, the essential features –the supine S shape—with the peak around the global median and the trough around the 80th -90th global percentile, remain. It is precisely the growth in the middle, fueled by the resurgent Asia, and the quasi-stagnation of incomes around the 80-90th percentile of the global income distribution where Western middle classes are, that have attracted most attention. 

It isn't quite true that "middle class" bit. Not in the English sense that is, although it might be true in the American. It is really those on less than median incomes in the rich countries, that 80th to 90th percentile. And it's worth noting that they have not become worse off in any absolute sense. Sure, their relative position has declined, given the large rises in income of those both below and above them in the income distribution. But their absolute position hasn't changed at all: that's actually the thing being complained about.

We have a word, or phrase for this. If we're able to make someone better off without making anyone worse off then this is a Pareto Improvement. And Pareto Improvements are thought to be a good thing. And what we've managed to do with this neoliberal globalisation stuff is make 90% of humanity better off, 10% no worse off even if not better off. It's thus, quite possibly, the largest Pareto Improvement ever. And thus, of course, this neoliberal globalisation is a good thing. Even, a Good Thing.