Inequality and Growth: Patterns and Policy Volume II: Regions and Regularities

It was a part of the wisdom of mainstream economics that in the early stages of development inequality would rise but, as growth persisted, it would, eventually, decline. Early evidence seemed to suggest that this pattern would be borne out. But, as time passed and growth persisted, inequality continued to grow, casting doubt on the received wisdom. The aim of this two-volume book is to analyze the current state of global and regional inequality, dissect the phenomenal increase in inequality that we have seen occur in recent times, and better understand the complex relationship between inequality and development. The political instability and conflict that we see around the world, arguably, has connection to economic deprivation of large segments of society and the perception of marginalization. This two-volume work acquires a special significance in the light of these developments.

Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University and the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics. He served on President Clinton's economic team as a member and then Chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors in the mid-1990s. He then joined the World Bank as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President.

Kaushik Basu is the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank currently on leave from Cornell where he is Professor of Economics and the C. Marks Professor of International Studies. Previously he served as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India.

Introduction: Inequality and Growth: A Preamble; Kaushik Basu, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Vivian Hon

1. The Inheritance of Employers and Nonlinearities in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility; Miles Corak and Patrizio Piraino

Towards Understanding Intergenerational Persistence, Slowly: Comments on 'The Inheritance of Employers and Nonlinearities in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility'; Francisco Ferreira

2. Do Nations Just Get the Inequality They Deserve? The 'Palma Ratio' Reexamined; José Gabriel Palma

Measuring Income Inequality: Comments on 'Do Nations Just Get the Inequality They Deserve? The 'Palma Ratio' Reexamined'; Joseph E. Stiglitz

3. The University of Texas Inequality Project (UTIP) Global Inequality Data Sets 1963-2008: Updates, Revisions and Quality Checks; James K. Galbraith, Beatrice Halbach, Aleksandra Malinowska, Amin Shams and Wenjie Zhang

Measuring Global Inequality: Comments on 'The University of Texas Inequality Project (UTIP) Global Inequality Data Sets 1963-2008'; Edward N. Wolff

4. Inequality and the Fragility of Growth; Jonathan D. Ostry

Comments on 'Redistribution, Inequality and Growth'; Francois Bourguignon

5. Does Wealth Distribution and the Source of Wealth Matter for Economic Growth? Inherited v. Uninherited Billionaire Wealth and Billionaires Political Connections; Sutirtha Bagchi and Jan Svejnar

A Sociological Perspective on Wealth Inequality and Opportunity: Comments on 'Does Wealth Distribution and the Source of Wealth Matter for Economic Growth? Inherited v. Uninherited Billionaire Wealth and Billionaires Political Connections'; Kendra Bischoff

6. Inequality in Arab Countries; Radwan A. Shaban

Resolving the Arab-Spring Paradox: Comments on 'Inequality in Arab Countries'; Shantayanan Devarajan

7. Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America; Nora Lustig, Luis F. Lopez-Calva and Eduardo Ortiz Juarez

A Macroeconomic Accounting Note to Pope Francis: Comments on 'Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America'; Celestin Monga

8. Caste Discrimination in Contemporary India; Ashwini Deshpande

Reflections on Caste and Integrroup Disparity: Comments on 'Caste Discrimination in Contemporary India'; William A. Darity, Jr.