The Impact of Inequality

The Impact of Inequality PDF Author: Richard Wilkinson
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595586601
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
A “powerful and provocative” inquiry into the relationship between societies’ inequality and their citizens’ health, happiness and well-being (Lisa Berkman, Harvard School of Public Health). Comparing the United States with other market democracies, and one American state with another, this book presents irrefutable evidence that inequality is a driver of poor health, social conflict, and violence. Pioneering social scientist Richard Wilkinson addresses the growing feeling—so common in the United States—that modern societies, despite their material success, are social failures. The Impact of Inequality explains why inequality has such devastating effects on the quality and length of our lives. Wilkinson shows that inequality leads to stress, which in turn creates sickness on the individual and mass level. As a consequence, society suffers widespread unhappiness and high levels of violence, depression, and mistrust across the social spectrum. With persuasive evidence and fascinating analysis, the diagnosis is clear: Social and political equality are essential to improving life for everyone. Wilkinson argues that even small reductions in inequality can make an important difference—for, as this book explains, social relations are always built on material foundations. “This new book, a wonderful work of synthesis, brings insight into how conditions of society impact on people’s daily lives. . . . It is a stimulating and exciting book.” —Sir Michael Marmot, author of The Status Syndrome

The Impact of Inequality

The Impact of Inequality PDF Author: Richard Wilkinson
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595586601
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book Here

Book Description
A “powerful and provocative” inquiry into the relationship between societies’ inequality and their citizens’ health, happiness and well-being (Lisa Berkman, Harvard School of Public Health). Comparing the United States with other market democracies, and one American state with another, this book presents irrefutable evidence that inequality is a driver of poor health, social conflict, and violence. Pioneering social scientist Richard Wilkinson addresses the growing feeling—so common in the United States—that modern societies, despite their material success, are social failures. The Impact of Inequality explains why inequality has such devastating effects on the quality and length of our lives. Wilkinson shows that inequality leads to stress, which in turn creates sickness on the individual and mass level. As a consequence, society suffers widespread unhappiness and high levels of violence, depression, and mistrust across the social spectrum. With persuasive evidence and fascinating analysis, the diagnosis is clear: Social and political equality are essential to improving life for everyone. Wilkinson argues that even small reductions in inequality can make an important difference—for, as this book explains, social relations are always built on material foundations. “This new book, a wonderful work of synthesis, brings insight into how conditions of society impact on people’s daily lives. . . . It is a stimulating and exciting book.” —Sir Michael Marmot, author of The Status Syndrome

Inequality in the Developing World

Inequality in the Developing World PDF Author: Carlos Gradín
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198863969
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
An analysis of the elevated level of contemporary global economic inequality--its measurement, trends over time and geography, and the policy challenges thrown up by them, with a focus on mainly five countries--Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Mexico.

The Causes and Consequences of Increasing Inequality

The Causes and Consequences of Increasing Inequality PDF Author: Finis Welch
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226893014
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Despite the economic boom of the 1990s, the gap between the wealthy and the poor in the United States is growing larger. While ample evidence exists to validate perceived trends in wage, income, and overall wealth disparity, there is little agreement on the causes of such inequality and what might be done to alleviate it. This volume draws together a panel of distinguished scholars who address these issues in terms comprehensible to noneconomists. Their findings are surprising, suggesting that factors such as trade imbalances, immigration rates, and differences in educational resources do not account for recent increases in the inequality of wealth and earnings. Rather, the contributors maintain that these discrepancies can be attributed to workplace demand for high-skilled labor. They also insist that further research must examine the organization of industry in order to better understand the concurrent devaluation of manual labor. Addressing a topic that is of considerable public interest, this collection helps move the issue of increasing economic inequality in America to the center of the public policy arena. Contributors: Donald R. Deere, Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, James P. Smith, Franco Peracchi, Gary Solon, Eric A. Hanushek, Julie A. Somers, Marvin H. Kosters, William Cline, Finis Welch, Angus Deaton, Charles Murray, Kevin Murphy

Income Inequality

Income Inequality PDF Author: Brian Keeley
Publisher: Org. for Economic Cooperation & Development
ISBN: 9789264246003
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Income inequality is rising. A quarter of a century ago, the average disposable income of the richest 10% in OECD countries was around seven times higher than that of the poorest 10%; today, it's around 9½ times higher. Why does this matter? Many fear this widening gap is hurting individuals, societies and even economies. This book explores income inequality across five main headings. It starts by explaining some key terms in the inequality debate. It then examines recent trends and explains why income inequality varies between countries. Next it looks at why income gaps are growing and, in particular, at the rise of the 1%. It then looks at the consequences, including research that suggests widening inequality could hurt economic growth. Finally, it examines policies for addressing inequality and making economies more inclusive.

Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality

Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality PDF Author: Lawrence M. Eppard
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1611462355
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequalityexplores and critiques the widespread perception in the United States that one’s success or failure in life is largely the result of personal choices and individual characteristics. As the authors show, the distinctively individualist ideology of American politics and culture shapes attitudes toward poverty and economic inequality in profound ways, fostering social policies that de-emphasize structural remedies. Drawing on a variety of unique methodologies, the book synthesizes data from large-scale surveys of the American population, and it features both conversations with academic experts and interviews with American citizens intimately familiar with the consequences of economic disadvantage. This mixture of approaches gives readers a fuller understanding of “skeptical altruism,” a concept the authors use to describe the American public’s hesitancy to adopt a more robust and structurally-oriented approach to solving the persistent problem of economic disadvantage.

Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality

Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality PDF Author: Ms.Era Dabla-Norris
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513547437
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Book Description
This paper analyzes the extent of income inequality from a global perspective, its drivers, and what to do about it. The drivers of inequality vary widely amongst countries, with some common drivers being the skill premium associated with technical change and globalization, weakening protection for labor, and lack of financial inclusion in developing countries. We find that increasing the income share of the poor and the middle class actually increases growth while a rising income share of the top 20 percent results in lower growth—that is, when the rich get richer, benefits do not trickle down. This suggests that policies need to be country specific but should focus on raising the income share of the poor, and ensuring there is no hollowing out of the middle class. To tackle inequality, financial inclusion is imperative in emerging and developing countries while in advanced economies, policies should focus on raising human capital and skills and making tax systems more progressive.

Unbound

Unbound PDF Author: Heather Boushey
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674919319
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
A Financial Times Book of the Year “The strongest documentation I have seen for the many ways in which inequality is harmful to economic growth.” —Jason Furman “A timely and very useful guide...Boushey assimilates a great deal of recent economic research and argues that it amounts to a paradigm shift.” —New Yorker Do we have to choose between equality and prosperity? Decisions made over the past fifty years have created underlying fragilities in our society that make our economy less effective in good times and less resilient to shocks, such as today’s coronavirus pandemic. Many think tackling inequality would require such heavy-handed interference that it would stifle economic growth. But a careful look at the data suggests nothing could be further from the truth—and that reducing inequality is in fact key to delivering future prosperity. Presenting cutting-edge economics with verve, Heather Boushey shows how rising inequality is a drain on talent, ideas, and innovation, leading to a concentration of capital and a damaging under-investment in schools, infrastructure, and other public goods. We know inequality is fueling social unrest. Boushey shows persuasively that it is also a serious drag on growth. “In this outstanding book, Heather Boushey...shows that, beyond a point, inequality damages the economy by limiting the quantity and quality of human capital and skills, blocking access to opportunity, underfunding public services, facilitating predatory rent-seeking, weakening aggregate demand, and increasing reliance on unsustainable credit.” —Martin Wolf, Financial Times “Think rising levels of inequality are just an inevitable outcome of our market-driven economy? Then you should read Boushey’s well-argued, well-documented explanation of why you’re wrong.” —David Rotman, MIT Technology Review

Humanity Divided

Humanity Divided PDF Author:
Publisher: UN
ISBN: 9789211263671
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This report revisits the theoretical concepts of inequalities including their measurements, analyzes their global trends, presents the policy makers' perception of inequalities in 15 countries and identifies various policy options in combating this major development challenge of our time. The report makes the basic point that in spite of the impressive progress humanity has made on many fronts over the decades, it still remains deeply divided. In that context, it is intended to help development actors, citizens, and policy makers contribute to global dialogues and initiate conversations in their own countries about the drivers and extent of inequalities, their impact, and the ways in which they can be curbed.

How Public Policy Impacts Racial Inequality

How Public Policy Impacts Racial Inequality PDF Author: Josh Grimm
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807171689
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
How Public Policy Impacts Racial Inequality, edited by Josh Grimm and Jaime Loke, brings together scholars of political science, sociology, and mass communication to provide an in-depth analysis of race in the United States through the lens of public policy. This vital collection outlines how issues such as profiling, wealth inequality, and housing segregation relate to race and policy decisions at both the local and national levels. Each chapter explores the inherent conflict between policy enactment, perception, and enforcement. Contributors examine topics ranging from the American justice system’s role in magnifying racial and ethnic disparities to the controversial immigration policies enacted by the Trump administration, along with pointed discussions of how the racial bias of public policy decisions historically impacts emerging concerns such as media access, health equity, and asset poverty. By presenting nuanced case studies of key topics, How Public Policy Impacts Racial Inequality offers a timely and wide-ranging collection on major social and political issues unfolding in twenty-first-century America.

Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016

Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016 PDF Author: World Bank Group
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464809798
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016 is the first of an annual flagship report that provides a global audience comprising development practitioners, policy makers, researchers, advocates, and citizens in general with the latest and most accurate estimates on trends in global poverty and shared prosperity. This edition documents trends in inequality and identifies recent country experiences that have been successful in reducing inequalities, provides key lessons from those experiences, and synthesizes the rigorous evidence on public policies that can shift inequality in a way that bolsters poverty reduction and shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.Specifically, the report addresses the following questions: •What is the latest evidence on the levels and evolution of extreme poverty and shared prosperity?•Which countries and regions have been more successful in terms of progress toward the twin goals and which are lagging behind? •What does the global context of lower economic growth mean for achieving the twin goals? •How can inequality reduction contribute to achieving the twin goals?•What does the evidence show concerning global and between- and within-country inequality trends?•Which interventions and countries have used the most innovative approaches to achieving the twin goals through reductions in inequality? The report makes four main contributions. First, it presents the most recent numbers on poverty, shared prosperity, and inequality. Second, it stresses the importance of inequality reduction in ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity by 2030 in a context of weaker growth. Third, it highlights the diversity of within-country inequality reduction experiences and synthesizes experiences of successful countries and policies, addressing the roots of inequality without compromising economic growth. In doing so, the report shatters some myths and sharpens our knowledge of what works in reducing inequalities. Finally, it advocates for the need to expand and improve data collection—for example, data availability, comparability, and quality—and rigorous evidence on inequality impacts in order to deliver high-quality poverty and shared prosperity monitoring.