- [UNTITLED]
- Preface
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Equality: Its Justification, Nature, and Domain
- The Measurement of Economic Inequality
- Income Inequality in Richer and OECD Countries
- Functional Distribution and Inequality
- Wealth and Economic Inequality
- Top Incomes
- Inequality and Earnings Distribution
- Inequality and the Labor Market: Employers
- Inequality and the Labor Market: Unions
- Low Pay
- Gender and Economic Inequality
- Economic Inequality, Poverty, and Social Exclusion
- Inequality and Time Use in the Household
- Inequality and Happiness
- Health and Economic Inequality
- Education and Inequality
- Demographic Transformation and Economic Inequality
- International Migration, Ethnicity, and Economic Inequality
- Intergenerational Income Mobility and the Role of Family Background
- Intragenerational Inequality and Intertemporal Mobility
- Inequality and Economic Growth
- Globalization and Inequality
- Poverty and Inequality: The Global Context
- Economic Inequality and the Welfare State
- The Political Economy of Inequality and Redistribution
- Prospects for Achieving Equality in Market Economies
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This article surveys the distribution of wealth and its relationship to economic inequality more broadly. It shows that wealth inequality is high and contributes significantly to inequality in income and consumption, although higher wealth inequality is not always an indicator of greater inequality in well-being. In particular, welfare state policies can improve the well-being of low income groups while at the same time reducing their incentive to save. This may lead to high observed wealth inequality in places where it would otherwise not be expected, such as some of the Scandinavian countries. More research is needed to better illuminate such connections between public policy and wealth inequality.
Keywords: income inequality, consumption inequality, welfare states, low income groups, Scandinavia, public policy
James Davies is a Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, where he served as Chair of his department from 1992 to 2001. Currently the Editor of Canadian Public Policy, he has published and consulted widely on issues of both taxation and the distribution of income and wealth.
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- [UNTITLED]
- Preface
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Equality: Its Justification, Nature, and Domain
- The Measurement of Economic Inequality
- Income Inequality in Richer and OECD Countries
- Functional Distribution and Inequality
- Wealth and Economic Inequality
- Top Incomes
- Inequality and Earnings Distribution
- Inequality and the Labor Market: Employers
- Inequality and the Labor Market: Unions
- Low Pay
- Gender and Economic Inequality
- Economic Inequality, Poverty, and Social Exclusion
- Inequality and Time Use in the Household
- Inequality and Happiness
- Health and Economic Inequality
- Education and Inequality
- Demographic Transformation and Economic Inequality
- International Migration, Ethnicity, and Economic Inequality
- Intergenerational Income Mobility and the Role of Family Background
- Intragenerational Inequality and Intertemporal Mobility
- Inequality and Economic Growth
- Globalization and Inequality
- Poverty and Inequality: The Global Context
- Economic Inequality and the Welfare State
- The Political Economy of Inequality and Redistribution
- Prospects for Achieving Equality in Market Economies
- Index