This has been borne out by countries that have proved successful in reducing poverty despite rising income inequality during periods of growth acceleration, with China being the most prominent example, along with Viet Nam. Close scrutiny shows that the acceleration of growth in these countries had its roots in a relatively egalitarian initial distribution of assets. Of course, the poverty reduction effect of rapid growth is greatest when both initial and current inequalities are relatively low, as was the case, during their early development stages, of other East Asian countries and areas such as the Republic of Korea and Taiwan Province of China. Their experience also shows that it may not be necessary for inequality to first rise with development before falling, thereby contradicting the Kuznets hypothesis of an inverted U-shaped relationship between income level and degree of inequality.