GLOBALIZATION CLIMATE

Reducing
inequality

REDUCING
INEQUALITY

The rising gap between rich and poor has become a threat to social cohesion in most rich countries. To reverse this trend it will be crucial to better understand the importance of different drivers of income and wealth inequality.

KNOWLEDGE BASE
REDUCING
INEQUALITY

The Challenge

Inequality in advanced countries, such as Germany, has reached levels of 100 years ago.

What Went Wrong

It is often repeated that inequality is just a transitory phenomenon and is necessary for dynamism and economic growth.

New Economy in Progress

Inequality is a political choice, produces discontent and can even lead to financial instability.

5 WAYS THAT ARE DISCUSSED TO REDUCE INEQUALITY

1

Taxing wealth as a tool in the fight against rising wealth inequality.

2

Increased inheritance taxes in an attempt to boost social mobility.

3

Compensate workers through stock ownership schemes to better distribute capital.

4

Combat tax avoidance by clamping down on offshore locations and tax havens.

5

Investment in education in a drive to reduce market levels of inequality; redistribution is not enough.

INCOME INEQUALITY AND GROWTH IN EUROPE, 1989-2017, BLANCHET ET AL. (2019).

INEQUALITY 28 FEBRUARY 2023

Event: Is the Shortage of Skilled Workers Narrowing the Gender Pay Gap?

Is now the time for women to close the wage gap?

INEQUALITY 27 JUNE 2022

New Stiglitz Study: Using Capital Taxes to Fund Public Investment

Researchers around nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz have proven in a new study that taxing capital to fund public investment reduces wealth inequality without compromising growth.

INEQUALITY 13 DECEMBER 2021

Inequality in Germany - Policy measures to reverse the trend

The Forum New Economy Working Paper series sees its latest addition: a paper that reviews trends and drivers of income and wealth inequality in Germany, and derives possible policy options.

INEQUALITY 1 NOVEMBER 2021

New Paradigm Knowledge Base - Update on inequality

What policies can help against rising inequality? How are inequality and central bank policies connected? Why is redistribution not enough to deal with populism?

INEQUALITY 21 MAY 2021

Inequality in Germany – How to reverse the trend

Is there only a perceived divergence of income and wealth in Germany? The factual situation and the assessment of concrete policy measures at the VIII. New Paradigm Workshop.

INEQUALITY 11 DECEMBER 2020

New Studies out now: What Drives Inequality in Germany?

In a two-part study commissioned by Forum New Economy, Charlotte Bartels and Carsten Schröder investigate the state of inequality and its drivers.

INEQUALITY 17 JULY 2020

DIW-Study Shows Unimagined Level of Inequality

Wealth inequality in Germany is even higher than estimated. That shows a new DIW-study which uses a new data mechanism.

INEQUALITY 18 JUNE 2020

How unequal Germany really is

Is the drifting apart of income and wealth real - or just scaremongering? This has been the subject of debate in this country for years. The Forum New Economy has commissioned leading researchers to compile the empirical evidence. First part of the study.

10 JUNE 2020

Inequality of what?

INEQUALITY 10 JUNE 2020

The State of Inequality in Germany

What are the recent trends in income, consumption and wealth inequality in Germany? Charlotte Bartels and Carsten Schröder review the literature in a new study commissioned by Forum New Economy.

INEQUALITY 12 MARCH 2020

The Distribution of Wealth in Germany, 1895 to 2018

A new study by Thilo Albers, Charlotte Bartels and Moritz Schularick for the first time assesses the long-run evolution of wealth inequality in Germany.

OTHER MAIN TOPICS

New Paradigm

NEW PARADIGM

After decades of overly naive market belief, we urgently need new answers to the great challenges of our time. More so, we need a whole new paradigm to guide us. We collect everything about the people and the community who are dealing with the question of a new paradigm and who analyze the historical and present impact of paradigms and narratives – whether in new contributions, performances, books and events.

Redefining
the role of
the state

REDEFINING
THE ROLE OF
THE STATE

For decades, there was a consensus that reducing the role of the state and cutting public debt would generate wealth. This contributed to a chronic underinvestment in education and public infrastructure. New research focuses on establishing when and how governments need to intervene to better contribute to long-term prosperity and to stabilize rather than aggravate economic fluctuations.

Remaking
finance

REMAKING
FINANCE

More than a decade after the financial crisis there still seems to be something seriously wrong with the financial system. Financial markets still tend to periodically misprice risk and contribute to boom and bust cycles. A better financial system needs to discourage short-termism and speculative activity, curtail systemic risk and distribute wealth more broadly.

Greening
prosperity

GREENING
PROSPERITY

During the high point of market orthodoxy, economists argued that the most 'efficient' way to combat climate change was to simply let markets determine the price of carbon emissions. Today, there is a growing consensus that prices need to be regulated and that a carbon price on its own might not be enough.

Innovation Lab

INNOVATION LAB

Do we need a whole new understanding of economic growth? What would be a real alternative? How viable are alternatives to GDP when it comes to measuring prosperity? These and other more fundamental challenges are what this section is about.

Globalization
for all

GLOBALIZATION
FOR ALL

After three decades of poorly managed integration, globalization is threatened by social discontent and the rise of populist forces. A new paradigm will need better ways not only to compensate the groups that have lost, but to distribute the gains more broadly from the start.

Europe
beyond markets

EUROPE
BEYOND MARKETS

The euro was planned during a period in which economic policy making was driven by a deep belief in market liberalism and the near impossibility of systemic financial crises. This belief has been brought into question since the euro crisis, which showed that panics do happen. New thinking needs to focus on developing mechanisms to protect eurozone countries from such panics and to foster economic convergence between members.

Corona Crisis

CORONA CRISIS

The current Corona crisis is probably the worst economic crisis of the post-World War 2 era. Economists are working hard on mitigating the economic effects caused by COVID-19 to prevent a second Great Depression, the break-up of the Eurozone and the end of globalisation. We collect the most important contributions.