Confronting Inequality: How Societies Can Choose Inclusive Growth

Jonathan D. Ostry; Prakash Loungani; Andrew Berg

Published by Columbia University Press 2018

Confronting Inequality

How Societies Can Choose Inclusive Growth

Jonathan D. Ostry , Prakash Loungani and Andrew Berg
Preface by: Joseph E. Stiglitz

https://doi.org/10.7312/ostr17468

Overview
Contents

About this book

Three International Monetary Fund economists show that the increase in inequality has been a political choice—and explain what policies we should choose instead to achieve a more inclusive economy. Confronting Inequality is a rigorous and empirically rich book that is crucial for a time when many fear a new Gilded Age.

Author / Editor information

Ostry Jonathan D. :

Jonathan D. Ostry is Deputy Director of the Research Department (RES) at the International Monetary Fund. He is the author and editor of a number of books on international macro policy issues, and numerous articles in scholarly journals, including Capital Controls, with Atish Ghosh and Mahvash Qureshi (eds.)(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015) and Exercises in Intertemporal Open Economy Macroeconomics, Second Edition, with Thomas Krueger and Chi-Wa Yuen (MIT Press, 1996).Loungani Prakash :

Prakash Loungani is an advisor in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Research Department and an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Management and Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Loungani has over 60 published works and has researched topics such as: assessment of macroeconomic forecasting performance; understanding trade linkages among nations and regions; and modeling the impact of oil prices on the macroeconomy.Berg Andrew :

Andrew Berg is deputy director of the International Monetary Fund's Institute for Capacity Development and adjunct professorial lecturer at American University. His work has appeared in South African Journal of Economics, Pacific Economic Review, Open Economies Review, and elsewhereStiglitz Joseph E. :

Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University and a member and former chair of Columbia University's Committee on Global Thought. He was the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics. He served on President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors, and then joined the World Bank as chief economist and senior vice president. His most recent book is The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future.Jonathan D. Ostry is deputy director of the research department at the International Monetary Fund, where his work on financial globalization and inequality has been influential in bringing about a shift in the IMF’s stance on these issues. His many books include Taming the Tide of Capital Flows (2017). His work on inequality and unsustainable growth has been cited by, among others, Barack Obama.

Prakash Loungani is assistant director in the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office. Known for his work on the difficulty of forecasting recessions, he blogs as The Unassuming Economist.

Andrew Berg is deputy director of the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development. He previously served at the U.S. Treasury, including as deputy assistant secretary for East Asia and Latin America in 2000–2001 and chief economist of the Mexican Task Force in 1995–1996.

Reviews

Jeffry Frieden, Harvard University:
Confronting Inequality is a valuable primer on one of the central issues of the present day. Ostry, Loungani, and Berg make a powerful argument that inequality has economic, social, and political effects that slow economic growth—and they suggest a menu of sensible policies to make the world a better, fairer, and more prosperous place. A cogent and concise summary of what we know about inequality and about how to reduce it.

Heather Boushey, executive director and chief economist, Washington Center for Equitable Growth:
Building on years of research conducted by the authors at the International Monetary Fund, Ostry, Loungani, and Berg tell a compelling story—in a pithy, accessible way—about how inequality hurts economic growth and stability and how to design policies to deliver a more inclusive growth.

Branko Milanović, The Graduate Center, CUNY:
The book provides a rigorous and pragmatic argument for why income inequality is a threat to sustained economic growth and what policies should be used to address it. Coming from the top IMF economists, this new approach may herald a major change in global policies such that attention is paid to both growth and equality.

Olivier Blanchard, senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, and former chief economist, International Monetary Fund:
We must move from assessing the effects of economic policies only on growth to assessing their effect on both growth and inequality. Some growth policies also decrease inequality, others increase it. Understanding the effects of specific policies, be it structural reforms or macroeconomic policies, is of the essence, and this book represents an important start at addressing the issue.

Dani Rodrik, Harvard University:
Ostry, Loungani, and Berg have done some of the best empirical research on globalization, inequality, and economic growth. This book not only brings the work together, but also sets out a rich policy agenda on inclusive growth. Confronting Inequality should be on the shelf of everyone who wants to understand the future of our economies.

Raghuram G. Rajan, University of Chicago Booth School of Business:
The IMF has been an unlikely accompaniment to the chorus of voices speaking out against increasing inequality, influenced primarily by the work of these authors. Here they explain why concerns about income distribution should be more central to policy making, and why the world will be better off for it. Backed by sensible empirical work, their arguments deserve to be read and discussed widely.

From the foreword by Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics:
This book shows that, far from being either necessary or good for growth, inequality leads to weaker economic performance. Moreover, increases in inequality have been a choice, not an unexpected outcome. The extent of inequality depends very much on the policies governments chose. These conclusions come from careful research conducted over several years. This book’s message is simple: societies are free to choose policies that will deliver more inclusive growth.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
FOREWORD Joseph E. Stiglitz Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
1. INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. INEQUALITY: MEASURES AND DRIVERS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
3. INEQUALITY AND SUSTAINED GROWTH Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
4. STRUCTURAL POLICIES AND INEQUALITY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
5. FINANCIAL GLOBALIZATION AND INEQUALITY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
6. AUSTERITY AND INEQUALITY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
7. CENTRAL BANKS AND INEQUALITY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
8. TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTS, AND INEQUALITY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
9. REMEDIES FOR INEQUALITY—REDISTRIBUTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
10. CONCLUSIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	106
DATA APPENDIX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	111
TECHNICAL APPENDIX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
GLOSSARY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Illustrations
- Other: 51 graphs and charts

eBook

Published: January 14, 2019
ISBN: 9780231527613