[Excerpt] Since 2007, the world of work has been hit by a number of global developments, in particular financial turmoil, rising food prices and a shortage of raw materials. This has brought an end to the rapid growth and strong employment performance exhibited by the world economy almost uninterruptedly since the mid-1990s. Looking forward, a critical issue is the extent to which the current financial crisis and slowdown in the world economy may aff ect disproportionately low-income groups. This is all the more relevant given that, as this chapter will show, during the high-growth period, income inequality increased in the majority of countries, which may in turn damage the social fabric.