An Introduction to Economic Inequality
eBook - ePub

An Introduction to Economic Inequality

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

An Introduction to Economic Inequality

About this book

If you could instantly make the world's poor twice as rich – but at the same time make the world's rich twice as prosperous – wouldn't you do it? This intriguing question lies at the core of An Introduction to Economic Inequality. Inequality has been blamed for many things, from causing lower life expectancy, poor education and political instability, to sparking more suicide, obesity, mental illness and murders. And the claim that the world's richest 1% own 40% of the planet's wealth – and that the rich keep getting richer – is regularly used to demonstrate its evils. But here author Eamonn Butler challenges this widely accepted narrative. Are we, he asks, posing the right questions? Don't the vagaries of life dictate that people are separated by different abilities, different choices, different risks, and different luck? And should equality even be a goal in itself? Butler contends that we should instead address the real social, economic and political problems that seriously harm the lives of the poor. Fixing failing schools, he says, would do more to boost mobility and equality than any amount of income redistribution. And he argues that focusing on inequality loses sight of what's truly important: not that everyone should be equal, but that everyone should have access to a decent standard of living. This clear-sighted yet concise critique makes for a compelling and constructive contribution to the debate on one of the 21st century's most emotive topics.

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Yes, you can access An Introduction to Economic Inequality by Eamonn Butler in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Economics & Development Economics. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. About the author
  2. Acknowledgements
  3. Summary
  4. 1 The inequality debate
  5. 2 Definitions, measures, explanations
  6. 3 Questioning the measurement of incomes
  7. 4 Questioning the measure of wealth
  8. 5 International comparisons
  9. 6 Must the rich get richer?
  10. 7 Questioning the moral case
  11. 8 Questioning the practical claims
  12. 9 Equal pay in the workplace
  13. 10 The roots of equalisation policy
  14. 11 Political approaches to equalisation
  15. 12 Equality of opportunity
  16. 13 Redistribution policies
  17. 14 Democracy and equality
  18. 15 Barriers to equality
  19. 16 The role of inequality
  20. 17 Conclusion
  21. References
  22. About the IEA