Confronting inequality : how societies can choose inclusive growth / Jonathan D. Ostry, Prakash Loungani, and Andrew Berg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ostry, Jonathan D. (Jonathan David), 1962- author.

Loungani, Prakash, author.

Berg, Andrew, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Income distribution.

Equality--Economic aspects.

Equality.

Economic development.

Physical Description:

xv, 173 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2019]

Summary:

Inequality has drastically increased in many countries around the globe over the past three decades. The widening gap between the very rich and everyone else is often portrayed as an unexpected outcome or as the tradeoff we must accept to achieve economic growth. In this book, three International Monetary Fund economists show that this increase in inequality has in fact been a political choice - and explain what policies we should choose instead to achieve a more inclusive economy. Jonathan D. Ostry, Prakash Loungani, and Andrew Berg demonstrate that the extent of inequality depends on the policies governments choose - such as whether to let capital move unhindered across national boundaries, how much austerity to impose, and how much to deregulate markets. While these policies do often confer growth benefits, they have also been responsible for much of the increase in inequality. The book also shows that inequality leads to weaker economic performance and proposes alternative policies capable of delivering more inclusive growth. In addition to improving access to health care and quality education, they call for redistribution from the rich to the poor and present evidence showing that redistribution does not hurt growth. Accessible to scholars across disciplines as well as to students and policy makers, Confronting Inequality is a rigorous and empirically rich book that is crucial for a time when many fear a new Gilded Age.

Contents:

Illustrating Efficiency and Equity p. 3

Balancing Equity and Efficiency p. 7

Redressing Inequality p. 9

A Roadmap to the Book p. 10

2 Inequality: Measures and Drivers p. 12

The Gini Coefficient p. 13

Top Income and Labor Income Shares p. 19

Drivers of Inequality p. 22

3 Inequality and Sustained Growth p. 25

Measuring Sustained Growth p. 27

Inequality and Sustained Growth: The Evidence p. 30

The Ends of Spells: Some Country Cases p. 33

4 Structural Policies and Inequality p. 37

Measuring Structural Reforms p. 39

Effects of Structural Reforms p. 42

Effects of Structural Reforms: Country Cases p. 46

Designing Structural Reforms p. 52

5 Financial Globalization and Inequality p. 54

Measuring Financial Globalization p. 56

Effects of Financial Globalization p. 56

Effects of Financial Globalization: Channels p. 62

Policy Implications for Low-income Countries p. 63

6 Austerity and Inequality p. 68

Measuring Fiscal Consolidation p. 70

The Effects of Austerity p. 71

Balancing Costs and Benefits p. 77

7 Central Banks and Inequality p. 79

Measuring Central Bank Actions p. 80

The Effects of Monetary Policy p. 81

Implications for Central Banks p. 85

8 Technology, Robots, and Inequality p. 87

Robots and the Capital Share of Income p. 88

Robots and Labor Income Inequality p. 91

Who Will Own the Robots? p. 92

9 Remedies for Inequality-Redistribution p. 95

Measuring Redistribution p. 98

Redistribution and Growth p. 101

A New Goal: Going for Inclusive Growth p. 107

Toward an Inclusive Globalization p. 109.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780231174695

0231174691

9780231174688

0231174683

OCLC:

1035456075