Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries Thirty Countries' Experiences

Brian Nolan, Principal, College of Human Sciences, University College Dublin,Wiemer Salverda, Professor of Labour Market and Inequality, Amsterdam Center for Inequality Studies AMCIS, and Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies AIAS, University of Amsterdam,Daniele Checchi, University of Milan,Ive Marx, Associate Professor, University of Antwerp,Abigail McKnight, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics,Istvan Gyorgy Toth, Director, Tarki Social Research Institute,Herman G. van de Werfhorst, Professor of Sociology, University of Amsterdam

The seven editors together have organised and coordinated the 3.5-year Growing Inequalities' Impacts GINI project, which has generated the results reported in this volume. They are an international team drawn from different disciplines and with important and complementary expertise in the fields covered by the book. They share a history of joint publications, including edited volumes, and extensive cooperation in research networks such LoWER (European Low-wage Employment Research network, 1996-2008), Equalsoc (Network of Excellence, since 2005), and ImPRovE (Poverty Reduction in Europe: Social Policy and Innovation, since 2012).

Lászlo Andor: Foreword
Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, István György Tóth, and Herman van de Werfhorst: Preface
1: Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, István György Tóth, and Herman van de Werfhorst: Introduction
2: István György Tóth: Revisiting Grand Narratives of Growing Inequalities: Lessons From 30 Country Studies
3: Peter Whiteford: Australia: Inequality and Prosperity and their Impacts in a Radical Welfare State
4: Roland Verwiebe, Tobias Troger, Laura Wiesböck, Roland Teitzer, and Nina-Sophie Fritsch: Austria: The Bastion of Calm? Stability and Change in Inequalities in Times of Welfare State Reforms and Employment Flexibilization
5: Jaan Masso, Kerly Espenberg, Anu Masso, Inta Mierina, and Kaia Philips: Between Economic Growth and Social Justice: Different Inequality Dynamics in the Baltic States
6: Tim Van Rie and Ive Marx: Belgium: When Growing Background Inequalities Meet Resilient Institutions
7: Vassil Tsanov, Petya Ivanova, Silvia Panteleeva, and Bogdan Bogdanov: Bulgaria: Rising Inequality in the Period of Transition and Restrictive Incomes Policy
8: Robert Andersen and Mitch McIvor: Rising Inequality and Its Impact in Canada: The Role of National Debt
9: Ioana Neamtu and Niels Westergaard-Nielsen: Sources and Impact of Rising Inequality in Denmark
10: Jenni Blomgren, Heikki Hiilamo, Olli Kangas, and Mikko Niemelä: Finland: Growing Inequality with contested consequences
11: Nicolas Frémeaux and Thomas Piketty: France: How Taxation Can Increase Inequality
12: Giacomo Corneo, Sonja Zmerli, and Reinhard Pollak: Germany: Rising Inequality and the Transformation of Rhine Capitalism
13: Margarita Katsimi, Thomas Moutos, George Pagoulatos, and Dimitri Sotiropoulos: Greece: The (Eventual) Social Hardship of Soft Budget Constraints
14: Zoltán Fábián, András Gábos, Marianna Kopasz, Márton Medgyesi, Péter Szivós, and István György Tóth: Hungary: A Country Caught in its Own Trap
15: Brian Nolan, Emma Calvert, Tony Fahey, Deirdre Healy, Aogan Mulcahy, Bertrand Maître, Michelle Norris, Ian O'Donnell, Nessa Winston, and Christopher T. Whelan: Ireland: Inequality and its Impacts in Boom and Bust
16: Gabriele Ballarino, Michela Braga, Massimiliano Bratti, Daniele Checchi, Antonio Filippin, Carlo Fiorio, Marco Leonardi, Elena Meschi, and Francesco Scervini: Italy: How Labour Market Policies Can Foster Earnings Inequality
17: Miki Kohara and Fumio Ohtake: Rising Inequality in Japan: A Challenge Caused by Population Aging and Drastic Changes in Employment
18: Byung You Cheon, Jiyeun Chang, Gyu Seong Hwang, Jin Wook Shin, Shin Wook Kang, Byung Hee Lee, and Hyun Joo Kim: Korea: The Great U-Turn in Inequality and the Need for Social Security Provisions
19: Alessio Fusco, Philippe Van Kerm, Aigul Alieva, Luna Bellani, Fanny Etienne-Robert, Anne-Catherine Guio, Iryna Kyzyma, Kristell Leduc, Philippe Liégeois, Maria Noel Pi Alperin, Anne Reinstadler, Eva Sierminska, Denisa Sologon, Patrick Thill, Marie Valentova, and Bogdan Voicu: Luxembourg: Has Inequality Grown Enough to Matter?
20: Wiemer Salverda, Marloes de Graaf-Zijl, Christina Haas, Bram Lancee, and Natascha Notten: The Netherlands: Policy-Enhanced Inequalities Tempered by Household Formation
21: Natalia Letki, MichaT Brzezinski, and Barbara Jancewicz: The Rise of Inequalities in Poland and their Impacts: When Politicians Don't Care but Citizens Do
22: Carlos Farinha Rodrigues and Isabel Andrade: Portugal: There and Back Again, An Inequality's Tale
23: Iuliana Precupetu and Marius Precupetu: Romania: High Rising Inequality over Two Decades of Post Communist Transformation
24: Martin Kahanec, Martin Guzi, Monika Martisková, and Zuzana Siebertová: Slovakia and the Czech Republic: Inequalities and Convergences after the Velvet Divorce
25: Masa Filipovic Hrast and Miroljub Ignjatovic: Slovenia: An Equal Society Despite the Transition
26: Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Xavier Ramos, and Mónica Oviedo: Spain: What Can We Learn From Past Decreasing Inequalities?
27: Johan Fritzell, Jennie Bacchus Hertzman, Olof Bäckman, Ida Borg, Tommy Ferrarini, and Kenneth Nelson: Sweden: Increasing Income Inequalities and Changing Social Relations
28: Abigail McKnight and Tiffany Tsang: Divided We Fall? The Wider Consequences of High and Unrelenting Inequality in the UK
29: Lane Kenworthy and Timothy Smeeding: The United States: High and Rapidly-Rising Inequality
30: Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, István György Tóth, and Herman van de Werfhorst: Learning from Diversity about Increasing Inequality, its Impacts, and Responses?
Foreword, Laszlo Andor
Preface, Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, Istvan Gyorgy Toth, and Herman van de Werfhorst
1. Introduction, Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, Istvan Gyorgy Toth, and Herman van de Werfhorst
2. Revisiting Grand Narratives of Growing Inequalities: Lessons From 30 Country Studies, Istvan Gyorgy Toth
3. Australia: Inequality and Prosperity and their Impacts in a Radical Welfare State, Peter Whiteford
4. Austria: The Bastion of Calm? Stability and Change in Inequalities in Times of Welfare State Reforms and Employment Flexibilization, Roland Verwiebe, Tobias Troger, Laura Wiesbock, Roland Teitzer, and Nina-Sophie Fritsch
5. Between Economic Growth and Social Justice: Different Inequality Dynamics in the Baltic States, Jaan Masso, Kerly Espenberg, Anu Masso, Inta Mierina, and Kaia Philips
6. Belgium: When Growing Background Inequalities Meet Resilient Institutions, Tim Van Rie and Ive Marx
7. Bulgaria: Rising Inequality in the Period of Transition and Restrictive Incomes Policy, Vassil Tsanov, Petya Ivanova, Silvia Panteleeva, and Bogdan Bogdanov
8. Rising Inequality and Its Impact in Canada: The Role of National Debt, Robert Andersen and Mitch McIvor
9. Sources and Impact of Rising Inequality in Denmark, Ioana Neamtu and Niels Westergaard-Nielsen
10. Finland: Growing Inequality with contested consequences, Jenni Blomgren, Heikki Hiilamo, Olli Kangas, and Mikko Niemela
11. France: How Taxation Can Increase Inequality, Nicolas Fremeaux and Thomas Piketty
12. Germany: Rising Inequality and the Transformation of Rhine Capitalism, Giacomo Corneo, Sonja Zmerli, and Reinhard Pollak
13. Greece: The (Eventual) Social Hardship of Soft Budget Constraints, Margarita Katsimi, Thomas Moutos, George Pagoulatos, and Dimitri Sotiropoulos
14. Hungary: A Country Caught in its Own Trap, Zoltan Fabian, Andras Gabos, Marianna Kopasz, Marton Medgyesi, Peter Szivos, and Istvan Gyorgy Toth
15. Ireland: Inequality and its Impacts in Boom and Bust, Brian Nolan, Emma Calvert, Tony Fahey, Deirdre Healy, Aogan Mulcahy, Bertrand Maitre, Michelle Norris, Ian O'Donnell, Nessa Winston, and Christopher T. Whelan
16. Italy: How Labour Market Policies Can Foster Earnings Inequality, Gabriele Ballarino, Michela Braga, Massimiliano Bratti, Daniele Checchi, Antonio Filippin, Carlo Fiorio, Marco Leonardi, Elena Meschi, and Francesco Scervini
17. Rising Inequality in Japan: A Challenge Caused by Population Aging and Drastic Changes in Employment, Miki Kohara and Fumio Ohtake
18. Korea: The Great U-Turn in Inequality and the Need for Social Security Provisions, Byung You Cheon, Jiyeun Chang, Gyu Seong Hwang, Jin Wook Shin, Shin Wook Kang, Byung Hee Lee, and Hyun Joo Kim
19. Luxembourg: Has Inequality Grown Enough to Matter?, Alessio Fusco, Philippe Van Kerm, Aigul Alieva, Luna Bellani, Fanny Etienne-Robert, Anne-Catherine Guio, Iryna Kyzyma, Kristell Leduc, Philippe Liegeois, Maria Noel Pi Alperin, Anne Reinstadler, Eva Sierminska, Denisa Sologon, Patrick Thill, Marie Valentova, and Bogdan Voicu
20. The Netherlands: Policy-Enhanced Inequalities Tempered by Household Formation, Wiemer Salverda, Marloes de Graaf-Zijl, Christina Haas, Bram Lancee, and Natascha Notten
21. The Rise of Inequalities in Poland and their Impacts: When Politicians Don't Care but Citizens Do, Natalia Letki, MichaT Brzezinski, and Barbara Jancewicz
22. Portugal: There and Back Again, An Inequality's Tale, Carlos Farinha Rodrigues and Isabel Andrade
23. Romania: High Rising Inequality over Two Decades of Post Communist Transformation, Iuliana Precupetu and Marius Precupetu
24. Slovakia and the Czech Republic: Inequalities and Convergences after the Velvet Divorce, Martin Kahanec, Martin Guzi, Monika Martiskova, and Zuzana Siebertova
25. Slovenia: An Equal Society Despite the Transition, Masa Filipovic Hrast and Miroljub Ignjatovic
26. Spain: What Can We Learn From Past Decreasing Inequalities?, Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Xavier Ramos, and Monica Oviedo
27. Sweden: Increasing Income Inequalities and Changing Social Relations, Johan Fritzell, Jennie Bacchus Hertzman, Olof Backman, Ida Borg, Tommy Ferrarini, and Kenneth Nelson
28. Divided We Fall? The Wider Consequences of High and Unrelenting Inequality in the UK, Abigail McKnight and Tiffany Tsang
29. The United States: High and Rapidly-Rising Inequality, Lane Kenworthy and Timothy Smeeding
30. Learning from Diversity about Increasing Inequality, its Impacts, and Responses?, Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, Istvan Gyorgy Toth, and Herman van de Werfhorst