And, surprising as it may seem, the growing educational disparity between rich and poor schools cannot be traced to differences in spending.

ECONOMIST: America��s education choice

The disparity between rich and poor is not as acute as that found in Pakistan mainly because the country does not have an entrenched feudalistic system.

ECONOMIST: Letters

China may become the largest market for Apple products surpassing the United States, but the disparity between the rich and poor in China is far greater than in the United States.

FORBES: Apple Stores Losing Shine As Another Top Exec Hits The Road

The lack of technological knowledge is the reason for the wide disparity between the rich and the poor nations today, because the rich nations are getting richer much faster than the poor nations due to investment in technological knowledge, the gap will continue to widen.

FORBES: Five African Ideas That Have Changed The World

Poor diet is one of the factors highlighted in relation to the disparity in health statistic between the rich and poor.

BBC: Grim warning over smoking

At the same time, the disparity between the city's rich and poor continued to grow, and the poverty rate reached its highest point in more than a decade during Mr. Bloomberg's third term, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

WSJ: Reputation on the Line

Liu has sounded themes of economic disparity on the campaign trail, noting that the income gap between the city's rich and poor has grown in recent years, and he also has emphasized his grasp of the city's finances as comptroller and a trained actuary.

WSJ: Big NYC public-employee union picks Liu for mayor

The gap between rich and poor has slightly narrowed under Lula's administration, but the disparity remains huge.

NPR: Brazil Votes in Runoff to Choose President