Inequality

by Vincent Chin, Aug 21, 2017 I’ve been in South Africa and the US recently. From geography to development both countries are, of course, very different. But they do share some similarities. Take inequality, for example. This issue – which is by no means limited to their shores – has become a deeply rooted feature…

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by Chris Doucouliagos, Aug 17, 2017 A world where a few people have most of the wealth motivates others who are poor to strive to earn more. And when they do, they’ll invest in businesses and other areas of the economy. That’s the argument for inequality. But it’s wrong.

by Sebastian Buckup, Jul 17, 2017 Since the Agrarian Revolution, technological progress has always fueled opposing forces of diffusion and concentration. Diffusion occurs as old powers and privileges corrode; concentration occurs as the power and reach of those who control new capabilities expands. The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution will be no exception in this regard.

by Lorenzo Fioramonti, Jun 16, 2017 The growth economy suffers from a productivity paradox. Corporations compete to reduce the time and effort that goes into production processes, which is generally seen as a sign of efficiency, but in reality has a troubling outcome.

Lessons on wealth distribution from the most equal of all US states by Scott Santens, Apr 26, 2017 Consider the following two headlines and the fact they describe events that are occurring simultaneously: “Grains piled on runways, parking lots, fields amid global glut” and “Famine looms in four countries as aid system struggles to cope,…

by Kaushik Basu, 18 Apr 2017 Global inequality today is at a level last seen in the late nineteenth century – and it is continuing to rise. With it has come a surging sense of disenfranchisement that has fueled alienation and anger, and even bred nationalism and xenophobia. As people struggle to hold on to…

by James Watkins, THE DAILY DOSE, APR 14 2017 We’re selling out. Uber and Lyft let us sell our rides and our tolerance for traffic. We can sell the spare bedroom on Airbnb. On TaskRabbit we can sell our ability to assemble Ikea furniture; on Etsy our knitting skills; on Lugg our brawn. The list…

by Nick Haslam, Mar 30, 2017 It is well known that economic inequality is rising. In most industrialised nations the distribution of wealth and income is becoming increasingly concentrated. In the United States, the top 10% of earners make more than nine times as much on average as the remainder, and in Australia the ratio…

Nick Haslam, Mar 30, 017 It is well known that economic inequality is rising. In most industrialised nations the distribution of wealth and income is becoming increasingly concentrated. In the United States, the top 10% of earners make more than nine times as much on average as the remainder, and in Australia the ratio approaches…

Why Welfare and Redistribution Saves Capitalism from Itself Rich countries share wealth and create economic security By Steve Roth, http://evonomics.com/whats-the-secret-to-joining-the-rich-country-club/ There’s a curious fact about the wealth and growth of nations that you rarely see mentioned: No country has ever joined the modern, high-productivity, rich-country club without massive doses of redistribution, and universal government programs for…

By Fathin Ungku and Jeremy Wagstaff, Feb 23, 2017 Singapore, a keen early adopter of the sharing economy, has fired a warning shot across the bow of Airbnb and Uber with tighter rules that could shake up their business models and growth ambitions in Asia.

By Digital Editor, Jan. 27, 2017 The increasing global inequality gap is the most important global trend facing the world in the next ten years, ahead of other urgent global problems such as climate change, polarization, cyber dependency, and ageing populations. At least so says the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its Global Risk Report…

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT, Manila Times, Jan 23, 2017 Out-of-pocket health spending a major household expenditure – PIDS Income and social inequalities still persist in the country even as the economy shows brisk growth, with out-of-pocket spending for health care remaining a major portion of household expenditure, state-think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies…

Debunking the meritocratic argument on its own terms By Didier Jacobs and Sam Pizzigati, http://evonomics.com/extreme-inequality-not-driven-merit-wealth/ Defenders of our deeply unequal global economic order had to put in a bit of overtime last month. They had to explain away the latest evidence — from the global charity Oxfam — on how concentrated our world’s wealth has…

Written by Maurice Obstfeld, Jan. 16, 2017 An accumulation of recent data suggests that the global economic landscape started to shift in the second half of 2016. Developments since last summer indicate somewhat greater growth momentum coming into the new year in a number of important economies. Our earlier projection, that world growth will pick…

By Associated Press, Jan. 16, 2017 DAVOS, Switzerland—The gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the global population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released on Monday.

BY THE MANILA TIMES, January 11, 2017 GENEVA: Rising income inequality is seen as the top risk for the global economy in 2017, with reforms to market capitalism increasingly viewed as necessary to ward off a populist backlash, the World Economic Forum said Wednesday.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky asked Peter Thiel, who invested in the company, for the single most important piece of advice he had for Airbnb. Thiel replied, “Don’t fuck up the culture.” This was a great advice, not just for Airbnb but also for every organization operating in the sharing economy. However, a couple…