A comparative review of the role of income inequality in economic crisis theories and its contribution to the financial crisis of 2007-2009

Thomas Goda

Revista Finanzas y Politica Economica, 2017, vol. 9, issue 1, 151-174

Abstract: It is widely accepted that inequality has increased sharply recently in developed countries, but no consensus exists so far about the importance of inequality in the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The aim of this article is to outline and contrast the theoretical underpinnings of Marxian, post-Keynesian, and mainstream crisis theories, and to compare their viewpoints regarding the role that income inequality played in the crisis. The results of this review suggest that, despite important differences in their theoretical concepts, several economists of these three strands offer a similar explanation on why income inequality was an important contributing factor to the financial crisis.******Es ampliamente aceptado que la desigualdad en los países desarrollados ha aumentado considerablemente en los anos recientes, pero hasta el momento no hay consenso sobre la importancia de la desigualdad en la crisis financiera de 2007-2009. El objetivo de este artículo es esbozar y contrastar los fundamentos teóricos de las teorías de crisis marxista, poskeynesiana y convencional, y comparar sus puntos de vista sobre el papel que desempenó la desigualdad de ingresos en la crisis. Los resultados de esta revisión sugieren que, a pesar de importantes diferencias en sus conceptos teóricos, varios economistas de las tres corrientes ofrecen una explicación similar de por qué la desigualdad de ingresos fue un factor importante que contribuyó a la crisis financiera.******É amplamente aceito que a desigualdade de renda nos países desenvolvidos tem aumentado de forma significativa nos últimos anos; contudo, até agora, nao há um consenso sobre a importancia dela na crise financeira global de 2007-2009. O objetivo deste artigo é esbocar e contrastar os fundamentos teóricos das teorias de crise marxista poskeynesiana e convencional, e comparar seus pontos de vista sobre o papel que a desigualdade de renda desempenhou na crise. Os resultados desta revisao sugerem que, apesar de importantes diferencas em seus conceitos teóricos, vários economistas das tres correntes oferecem uma explicacao similar de por que a desigualdade de renda foi um fator importante que contribuiu para a crise financeira.

Keywords: income inequality; personal income distribution; crisis theories; financial crisis; schools of economic thought. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B0 D3 E25 G01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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