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Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know
Over the past thirty years, the issue of economic inequality has emerged from the backwaters of economics to claim center stage in the political discourse of America and beyond---a change prompted by a troubling fact: numerous measures of income inequality, especially in the United States in the last quarter of the twentieth century, have risen sharply in recent years. Even so, many people remain confused about what, exactly, politicians and media persons mean when they discuss inequality. What does "economic inequality" mean? How is it measured? Why should we care? Why did inequality rise in the United States? Is rising inequality an inevitable feature of capitalism? What should we do about it?
Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know takes up these questions and more in plain and clear language, bringing to life one of the great economic and political debates of our age. Inequality expert James K. Galbraith has compiled the latest economic research on inequality and explains his findings in a way that everyone can understand. He offers a comprehensive introduction to the study of economic inequality, including its philosophical and theoretical origins, the variety of concepts in wide use, empirical measures and their advantages and disadvantages, competing modern theories of the causes and effects of rising inequality in the United States and worldwide, and a range of policy measures.
The topic of economic inequality is going to become only more important as we approach the 2016 presidential elections. This latest addition to the popular What Everyone Needs to Know series from Oxford University Press will tell you everything you need to know to make informed opinions on this significant issue.
Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know takes up these questions and more in plain and clear language, bringing to life one of the great economic and political debates of our age. Inequality expert James K. Galbraith has compiled the latest economic research on inequality and explains his findings in a way that everyone can understand. He offers a comprehensive introduction to the study of economic inequality, including its philosophical and theoretical origins, the variety of concepts in wide use, empirical measures and their advantages and disadvantages, competing modern theories of the causes and effects of rising inequality in the United States and worldwide, and a range of policy measures.
The topic of economic inequality is going to become only more important as we approach the 2016 presidential elections. This latest addition to the popular What Everyone Needs to Know series from Oxford University Press will tell you everything you need to know to make informed opinions on this significant issue.
- GenresEconomicsNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2016
28 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 2, 2023
Mă bucur că a fost tradusă. M-am tot lovit de conceptul de inegalitate economică în cărțile despre globalizare și tehnologia informației.
Cartea e un mini-curs de economie.
Cartea e un mini-curs de economie.
September 3, 2023
Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know, James K. Galbraith, 2016, 211 pages, ISBN 9780190250478
Galbraith wants to talk about the study of inequality as an academic subject.
He's apolitical.
Read Thomas Piketty's latest instead.
Galbraith wants to talk about the study of inequality as an academic subject.
He's apolitical.
Read Thomas Piketty's latest instead.
January 10, 2022
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Not all wallets are created equal
XXXXX
“This small book crystallizes two decades of reflection and research on economic inequalities…
My goal is to give a tour of the most important issues, while keeping some distance from the polemics. No book on economic inequality can ever be strictly apolitical, but still—this is not a political book…
This book is as non-technical as the subject permits, and as readable as I could make it…
The format of the Oxford series ‘What Everyone Needs to Know’ is to pose questions and provide answers. Never having attempted to write in this mode before, I found it engaging, and I hope that the same is true for the reader.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from this very informative and slim book by James K. Galbraith. He is professor of economics at the University of Texas (at Austin). His father is the noted Canadian-American economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 to 2006).
Inequality is simply the lack of equality.
Economic inequality (the topic of this book) has emerged over the past thirty years and is not so easy to define since it is a term covering many distinct ideas, concepts, and measures. Economists are interested in inequality of three types: pay, income, and wealth. Why? Because they can be easily measured. It is these inequalities that are the focus of this book.
Galbraith does a superb job of what intelligent people need to know about inequality. What he does is explain the most important technical aspects of the topic in the beginning chapters. This is needed to follow his analysis in this book’s latter chapters. Graphs, maps, etc. are used where necessary.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything that’s explained in the beginning technical chapters. I found that you just had to be familiar with the concepts presented in order to appreciate the latter chapters.
I found the question and answer format for all of the chapters to be quite intriguing, engaging, and immensely helpful. Here are the questions posed throughout the chapter entitled “Causes of Changing Inequality in the World” to give you a taste of the questions answered:
(1) What do we know about inequality in the whole world?
(2) How is inequality related to economic development?
(3) How do political systems, violence, revolution, and war affect inequality?
(4) How do interest rates, growth, and saving affect inequality?
(5) What has been the role of financialization in changing inequality?
(6) What do global patterns show?
Finally, this book is somewhat academic. Personally, this did not bother me but some readers may be put off by this style.
In conclusion, this book brings to life one of the great economic and political debates of our age!
(2016; preface (viiii to x); acknowledgements (xi to xii); 11 chapters; epilogue: a final digression; main narrative 175 pages; appendix; further reading; selected biography; index)
XXXXX
Not all wallets are created equal
XXXXX
“This small book crystallizes two decades of reflection and research on economic inequalities…
My goal is to give a tour of the most important issues, while keeping some distance from the polemics. No book on economic inequality can ever be strictly apolitical, but still—this is not a political book…
This book is as non-technical as the subject permits, and as readable as I could make it…
The format of the Oxford series ‘What Everyone Needs to Know’ is to pose questions and provide answers. Never having attempted to write in this mode before, I found it engaging, and I hope that the same is true for the reader.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from this very informative and slim book by James K. Galbraith. He is professor of economics at the University of Texas (at Austin). His father is the noted Canadian-American economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 to 2006).
Inequality is simply the lack of equality.
Economic inequality (the topic of this book) has emerged over the past thirty years and is not so easy to define since it is a term covering many distinct ideas, concepts, and measures. Economists are interested in inequality of three types: pay, income, and wealth. Why? Because they can be easily measured. It is these inequalities that are the focus of this book.
Galbraith does a superb job of what intelligent people need to know about inequality. What he does is explain the most important technical aspects of the topic in the beginning chapters. This is needed to follow his analysis in this book’s latter chapters. Graphs, maps, etc. are used where necessary.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything that’s explained in the beginning technical chapters. I found that you just had to be familiar with the concepts presented in order to appreciate the latter chapters.
I found the question and answer format for all of the chapters to be quite intriguing, engaging, and immensely helpful. Here are the questions posed throughout the chapter entitled “Causes of Changing Inequality in the World” to give you a taste of the questions answered:
(1) What do we know about inequality in the whole world?
(2) How is inequality related to economic development?
(3) How do political systems, violence, revolution, and war affect inequality?
(4) How do interest rates, growth, and saving affect inequality?
(5) What has been the role of financialization in changing inequality?
(6) What do global patterns show?
Finally, this book is somewhat academic. Personally, this did not bother me but some readers may be put off by this style.
In conclusion, this book brings to life one of the great economic and political debates of our age!
(2016; preface (viiii to x); acknowledgements (xi to xii); 11 chapters; epilogue: a final digression; main narrative 175 pages; appendix; further reading; selected biography; index)
XXXXX
February 22, 2016
I've been interested in inequality and reducing it for some time, so was pleased to receive this book for review through NetGalley. The book follows a specific format based on the publisher's standards for the series the book is in. It poses questions that are then answered. This provides a nice framing for the reader, and makes it easy to read in blocks or to revisit specific concepts if they require more thought.
The author is an economist and is a professor at the University of Texas where he has a center that studies economic inequality. The book includes graphs and maps created through this center to illustrate some of the author's points. It doesn't take much research to learn that the author is a believer in reducing inequality (at least to the extent possible). However, I thought he did a very good job at writing an objective description of the history of the study of inequality. He clearly has some disagreement with certain approaches, though he does describe the logical fallacies that lead him to that position. He brings up a number of well-known economists, including the recent work by Thomas Piketty that has caused so much controversy.
As someone who has only taken one or two economics courses, and those several years ago, I thought Galbraith did a very good job at keeping complex concepts accessible. His tone is friendly yet professional. Occasionally I found the points being made hard to absorb, but mostly I learned a number of new concepts. The book starts with the history of the study of inequality and moves through different theories, ways of measuring it, what we know today, and potential policy approaches to reduce it (if desired). I recommend this book for those looking for an introduction to the topic as it provides a starting point that guides the reader on where to go deeper based on one's interests.
The author is an economist and is a professor at the University of Texas where he has a center that studies economic inequality. The book includes graphs and maps created through this center to illustrate some of the author's points. It doesn't take much research to learn that the author is a believer in reducing inequality (at least to the extent possible). However, I thought he did a very good job at writing an objective description of the history of the study of inequality. He clearly has some disagreement with certain approaches, though he does describe the logical fallacies that lead him to that position. He brings up a number of well-known economists, including the recent work by Thomas Piketty that has caused so much controversy.
As someone who has only taken one or two economics courses, and those several years ago, I thought Galbraith did a very good job at keeping complex concepts accessible. His tone is friendly yet professional. Occasionally I found the points being made hard to absorb, but mostly I learned a number of new concepts. The book starts with the history of the study of inequality and moves through different theories, ways of measuring it, what we know today, and potential policy approaches to reduce it (if desired). I recommend this book for those looking for an introduction to the topic as it provides a starting point that guides the reader on where to go deeper based on one's interests.
August 30, 2021
This book is truly what it professes to be: the key concepts and data about inequality. If you are looking for a book that says "inequality is good" or "inequality is bad," you will be disappointed. Otherwise, you will be hard pressed to find a more grounded investigation of inequality than Dr. Galbraith's.
December 8, 2022
Galbraith incearca sa explice cum stau lucrurile in privinta inegalitatilor si cum putem face mai bine. Din pacate, la prima lectura mi s-a parut mai greoaie, probabil si pentru faptul ca nu sunt familiarizat cu mai multe dintre conceptele de acolo, dar voi reveni la ea atunci cand va fi nevoie de a afla cum voi putea transforma in mai bine viata oamenilor din jurul meu si din tara mea.
May 3, 2019
Well organized and well written overview of the current state. Best single volume summary I have read on the topic. His ongoing research directly bears on subtopics in the book. (Author is son of John K. Galbraith)
February 1, 2020
great book for introducing basic concepts of inequality. anyone knows little about inequality and interested to know more should read this book.
February 24, 2022
O carte bună, însă cu un nivel mare de dificultate, destul de tehnică deși autorul s-a străduit să o facă cât mai ușoară.
January 9, 2016
With the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor, inequality as described by wealth has become a hot button issue.
While the gap between the super rich and the poor/middle class is an ever increasing gap, current political candidates have harped on this issue. One of which (Bernie Sanders) has based the better part of his campaign off of this issue.
Throughout the course of history, inequality has always been a dividing factor. Whether it be race, wealth, caste or age.
This book explores those dividing factors.
The author does a great job of explaining these issues without getting too far into the technicalities. That makes this book understandable for lots of people who want to learn more about this issue but have no real grounding in economics.
One particular part of the book really stuck with me.
On the subject of race, the author brings up a little know subcategory. He defines race as a social definition instead of a biological definition.
The book is a good starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the vast inequality issues we have faced and currently face.
While the gap between the super rich and the poor/middle class is an ever increasing gap, current political candidates have harped on this issue. One of which (Bernie Sanders) has based the better part of his campaign off of this issue.
Throughout the course of history, inequality has always been a dividing factor. Whether it be race, wealth, caste or age.
This book explores those dividing factors.
The author does a great job of explaining these issues without getting too far into the technicalities. That makes this book understandable for lots of people who want to learn more about this issue but have no real grounding in economics.
One particular part of the book really stuck with me.
On the subject of race, the author brings up a little know subcategory. He defines race as a social definition instead of a biological definition.
The book is a good starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the vast inequality issues we have faced and currently face.
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January 17, 2017306.3 G148 2016
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews