In South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, poverty levels have remained very high. In developed countries, income inequality has increased, and the phenomenon of the working poor has become more pronounced. However, the recent escalation in prices of food, fuel and industrial commodities till mid-2008 largely wiped out those gains. Two prominent examples are many excessively sophisticated and expensive products in the automobile and household-appliances industries worldwide, which have experienced a massive oversupply in recent years.