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.
LATEST NEWS
Is an Inheritance Tax Useless After All? Re-Cap for the Launch of Our Wealth Simulator
From our Forum New Economy newsletter series
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
INCOME INEQUALITY AND GROWTH IN EUROPE, 1989-2017, BLANCHET ET AL. (2019).
Inequality 101 with Branko Milanovic and Arjun Jayadev
Inequality may be the pressing issue of our time. Until recently however, inequality was seen as a normal externality with positive effects. Branko Milanovic and Arjun Jayadev break down all aspects of inequality for the Institute for New Economic Thinking in a new series called "Inequality 101".
Rebottling the Gini: why this headline measure of inequality misses everything that matters
In an article for Prospect Magazine Angus Deaton and Anne Case argue against the use of the most common indicator on inequality.
Top incomes in Germany, 1871-2014
By Charlotte Bartels, The Journal of Economic History, September 2019
Changes in the global income distribution and their political implications
By Branko Milanovic, City University of New York. presentation to the 2nd New Economic Paradigm Workshop
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.