The New Economics of Inequality and Redistribution

A novel and optimistic account of the possibility of a more just economy.

Samuel Bowles (Author)

9781107014039, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 July 2012

208 pages, 34 b/w illus. 1 table
21.6 x 14 x 1.5 cm, 0.39 kg

'Samuel Bowles offers both the world of science and the world of politics an extremely valuable synthesis of new thinking about inequality, integrating innovative analyses of fundamental causes, sustainable solutions, human behaviour and normative conceptions. Both unjustified 'equality pessimism' and traditional redistributive approaches are put to the test of rigorous analysis and empirical research. The outcome is an inspiring account of ways and means to create more just societies in today's global world.' Frank Vandenbroucke, University of Leuven, and former Minister, Belgian Government

Economists warn that policies to level the economic playing field come with a hefty price tag. But this so-called 'equality-efficiency trade-off' has proven difficult to document. The data suggest, instead, that the extraordinary levels of economic inequality now experienced in many economies are detrimental to the economy. Moreover, recent economic experiments and other evidence confirm that most citizens are committed to fairness and are willing to sacrifice to help those less fortunate than themselves. Incorporating the latest results from behavioral economics and the new microeconomics of credit and labor markets, Bowles shows that escalating economic disparity is not the unavoidable price of progress. Rather it is policy choice - often a very costly one. Here drawing on his experience both as a policy advisor and an academic economist, he offers an alternative direction, a novel and optimistic account of a more just and better working economy.

List of figures
List of tables
Preface
1. The new economics of inequality and redistribution
2. The economic cost of wealth inequality
3. Feasible egalitarianism in a competitive world
4. Cosmopolitans, parochials and the politics of social insurance
5. Altruism, reciprocity, and the politics of egalitarian redistribution
6. Conclusion
Appendices
Works cited
Index.

Subject Areas: Behavioural economics [KCK], Microeconomics [KCC], Economics [KC]