The Globalization of Inequality
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Why national and international equality matter and what we can do to ensure a fairer world
In The Globalization of Inequality, distinguished economist and policymaker François Bourguignon examines the complex and paradoxical links between a vibrant world economy that has raised the living standard of over half a billion people in emerging nations such as China, India, and Brazil, and the exponentially increasing inequality within countries. Exploring globalization's role in the evolution of inequality, Bourguignon takes an original and truly international approach to the decrease in inequality between nations, the increase in inequality within nations, and the policies that might moderate inequality’s negative effects.
Demonstrating that in a globalized world it becomes harder to separate out the factors leading to domestic or international inequality, Bourguignon examines each trend through a variety of sources, and looks at how these inequalities sometimes balance each other out or reinforce one another. Factoring in the most recent economic crisis, Bourguignon investigates why inequality in some countries has dropped back to levels that have not existed for several decades, and he asks if these should be considered in the context of globalization or if they are in fact specific to individual nations. Ultimately, Bourguignon argues that it will be up to countries in the developed and developing world to implement better policies, even though globalization limits the scope for some potential redistributive instruments.
An informed and original contribution to the current debates about inequality, this book will be essential reading for anyone who is interested in the future of the world economy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former World Bank senior v-p Bourguignon has news for the 99%. Internationally, income inequality is declining, not increasing, due to the economic rise of previously underdeveloped countries. Nevertheless, the gap between rich and poor remains a dangerously destabilizing political force. Bourguignon addresses the issue calmly and sensibly. He explains the methods economists use to measure income inequality and provides charts showing how it varies throughout the world. This dispassionate view neither demonizes the rich nor sanctifies the poor. Because there is an abundant global supply of labor, returns to labor (wages) are low. Because capital is scarcer than labor, returns to capital are high. As wealthy people are more likely to have income from capital and poorer people are more likely to depend on wages, the rich are, in fact, growing richer while the poor grow poorer. Bourguignon does not lack for solutions, including equal access to jobs and education, redistribution of wealth in developing countries through taxation and income transfers, and regulation of the flow of capital to international tax havens. This timely and excellent primer on income inequality both within and among nations deserves to be read by both occupiers and occupants of Wall Street.
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