Inequality: Trends, Causes, Consequences, Relevant Policies (International Papers in Political Economy)

This book is the fifteenth volume in the renowned International Papers in Political Economy (IPPE) series which explores the latest developments in political economy. Containing contributions by experts in the field, this book focuses on topics that address the ongoing debate of inequalities in economic systems. Inequality has been considered a problem by many academics and policy makers for a long time now and recently here has been some evidence of increasing inequalities in society. Contributors to this book focus on the causes and consequences of inequality along with the importance of tackling inequality and recommend potential policies to reduce it, for example tax reforms. The book covers different aspects of inequality - from income to gender - and explores links between inequality and economic growth, and financialisation and financial crisis.-- Provided by publisher Preface 6 Contents 8 Notes on Contributors 10 List of Figures 17 List of Tables 22 Importance of Tackling Income Inequality and Relevant Economic Policies 24 1 Introduction 24 2 World State of Inequality 28 3 Importance of Tackling Inequality 34 4 Inequality and Economic Growth: Wage-Led or Profit-Led Demand 41 5 Economic Policies to Tackle Inequality 46 6 Summary and Conclusions 55 References 56 Financialisation, Financial Crisis and Inequality 66 1 Introduction 66 2 Financialisation in the Past Four Decades 67 3 Trends in Income Distribution and Inequality 78 4 The Financial Sector and Inequality of Income and Earnings 80 5 Financialisation and Income Distribution 87 6 Stratification in the Financial Sector 94 7 Financial Deepening and Inequality 94 8 Inequality and Financial Crisis 97 9 Concluding Comments 104 References 104 Inequality and Growth: Marxian and Post-Keynesian/Kaleckian Perspectives on Distribution and Growth Regimes Before and After the Great Recession 111 1 Introduction 111 2 Stylised Facts: Distribution and Growth Regimes Under Financialisation Before the Crisis 113 3 Distribution and Growth Before the Crisis: Stylised Facts and Regimes in Stylised Marxian and Kaleckian Models 120 3.1 The Basic Model 121 3.2 Marxian Closure, Regime Generation and Effects of Distributional and Behavioural Changes Before the Crisis 123 3.3 Kaleckian Closure, Regime Generation and Effects of Distributional and Behavioural Changes Before the Crisis 134 4 Distribution and Growth After the Crisis: Regime Changes and Stagnation Tendencies 145 5 Summary and Conclusions 153 References 154 Theoretical and Empirical Analyses of the Rise of Income Inequality in Rich Countries 160 1 Introduction 160 2 The Determinants of the Labour Share: Theory and Stylised Facts 163 2.1 Financialisation 165 2.2 Structural Change 166 2.3 Globalisation 171 3 Labour Flexibility and Labour Bargaining Power 172 4 General Forces Driving Inequality: Globalisation and Financialisation 174 5 Financialisation, Welfare Models, and Inequality 179 6 Other Determinants of Inequality: De-unionisation, Tax and Labour Market Institutions 185 7 Inequality, Financialisation, and Economic Decline 189 8 Concluding Remarks 197 References 200 Can Tax Reforms Reduce Inequality? 208 1 Introduction 208 2 Literature Review 210 3 Role of Taxes in Inequality 217 4 The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfer in the Emerging Economies 224 4.1 The Distributional Impact of Direct Taxation and Transfers 229 4.2 The Distributional Impact of Indirect Taxation and Indirect Subsidies 232 4.3 The Distributional Impact of in-Kind Transfers 235 5 The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfers in the Developed Economies 239 6 Policies to Tackle Growing Inequality 244 7 Summary and Conclusions 247 References 247 Gender Inequality in the Labour Market and the Great Recession 253 1 Gender Equality: A Fundamental Human Right 253 2 Gender Differences in the Labour Market: Literature Review and Own Contribution 256 2.1 Literature Review 256 2.2 Our Contribution on Evolution of Gender Differences 262 3 Towards the Objective of Gender Equality: Employment and Unemployment 263 3.1 Gender Differences in Employment: The ‘Gender Employment Gap’ (GEG) 265 3.2 Gender Differences in Unemployment: The ‘Gender Unemployment Gap’ (GUG) 271 4 Gender Differences in Earnings: The ‘Gender Pay Gap’ (GPG) 278 5 Further Discussion of the Results 283 6 Concluding Remarks 289 References 290 Rich Become Richer and Poor Become Poorer: A Wealth Inequality Approach from Great Britain 295 1 Introduction 295 2 Literature Review 298 3 Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) in Great Britain 308 3.1 Discussion of the Most Recent WAS Waves 4 and 5 (2012–2014 and 2014–2016)—Wealth Distribution and Inequality Across Great Britain 311 3.2 House Prices and Their Role on Wealth Distribution 319 3.3 Theoretical Framework 322 4 Empirical Investigation 323 4.1 Data and Variables 326 4.2 Empirical Results 326 4.3 Discussion of the Empirical Results 329 5 Summary and Conclusions 336 References 338 Why Has Income Inequality Been Neglected in Economics and Public Policy? 342 1 Introduction 343 2 Inequality Trends 345 3 The Response to Rising Inequality 347 4 Structure and Ideology of Western Capitalism 350 5 Change in Ruling Class Coalition 355 6 Interests of the Middle Classes 358 7 Conservative Ideology 361 8 Right-Wing Think Tanks 364 9 Centre-Left Political Tactics 366 10 Economists’ Neglect or Defence of Inequality 367 11 Ready Diversionary Tactics 375 12 Summary and Conclusions 376 References 379 Index 385 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiv Importance of Tackling Income Inequality and Relevant Economic Policies (Philip Arestis)....Pages 1-42 Financialisation, Financial Crisis and Inequality (Malcolm Sawyer)....Pages 43-87 Inequality and Growth: Marxian and Post-Keynesian/Kaleckian Perspectives on Distribution and Growth Regimes Before and After the Great Recession (Eckhard Hein)....Pages 89-137 Theoretical and Empirical Analyses of the Rise of Income Inequality in Rich Countries (Pasquale Tridico, Riccardo Pariboni)....Pages 139-186 Can Tax Reforms Reduce Inequality? (Ahmad Seyf)....Pages 187-231 Gender Inequality in the Labour Market and the Great Recession (Patricia Peinado, Felipe Serrano)....Pages 233-274 Rich Become Richer and Poor Become Poorer: A Wealth Inequality Approach from Great Britain (Dimitra Kavarnou, Nikodem Szumilo)....Pages 275-321 Why Has Income Inequality Been Neglected in Economics and Public Policy? (Robert H. Wade, Michele Alacevich)....Pages 323-365 Back Matter ....Pages 367-373