 Inequality: an assessmentOxford Review of Economic Policy, 2019, vol. 35, issue 3, 351-367 Abstract: Concern about inequality, particularly inequality of income and wealth, has become prominent in public discourse around the world. This article first discusses issues of measurement and goes on to ask why we should care, emphasizing fairness and the market distortions and negative externalities found in unequal societies. It documents that the decline in global inequality in recent decades has been due to falling inequality between, rather than within, countries. The popular picture of rising inequality in OECD countries is more varied and complex than often perceived. Its drivers include aspects of globalization and of technological change as well as changes in the distribution of market power, in financial markets, public policy, and monetary policy. There are two over-arching questions about how governments can address inequality. The first is what should be tackled at the international level and what should be the preserve of national policy. The second is what should be the balance between pre- and post-market interventions. Both have a role but generally the balance has been too skewed towards the latter. Keywords: inequality; fairness; globalization; technology; intergenerational mobility; policy (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:oxford:v:35:y:2019:i:3:p:351-367. Access Statistics for this article Oxford Review of Economic Policy is currently edited by Christopher Adam More articles in Oxford Review of Economic Policy from Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.