The Political Economy of Inequality

by Frank Stilwell

During the last few decades, the gap between the incomes, wealth and living standards of rich and poor people has increased in most countries. Economic inequality has become a defining issue of our age.

In this book, leading political economist Frank Stilwell provides a comprehensive overview of the nature, causes, and consequences of this growing divide. He shows how we can understand inequalities of wealth and incomes, globally and nationally, examines the scale of the problem and explains how it affects our wellbeing. He also shows that, although governments are often committed to ‘growth at all costs’ and ‘trickle down’ economics, there are alternative public policies that could be used to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

Stilwell’s engaging and clear guide to the issues will be indispensable reading for all students, general readers and scholars interested in inequality in political economy, economics, public policy and beyond.

Genres: Economics

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 28, 2019

About the author

Frank Stilwell is professor emeritus in political economy at the University of Sydney, where he began teaching in 1970. He is a well-known critic of conventional economics and an advocate of alternative economic strategies for social justice and ecological sustainability. Frank has written a dozen books on political economic issues and co-edited half a dozen others. His next book is The Political Economy of Inequality. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, the coordinating editor of the Journal of Australian Political Economy, vice president of the Evatt Foundation and executive member of the Council for Peace with Justice.

Reviews

[Ian Tymms · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking analysis of inequality: what causes it; why it's ethically wrong and economically counterproductive and what we might do about it. The view is pessimistic but, as Stilwell reminds us, we must have ‘pessimism of the intellect, [and] optimism of the will’(p. 245).

Among the more interesting suggestions for addressing inequality is that of a common basic wage given to everyone over the age of 18. The idea is that if everyone received a common wage set at about the poverty line and with no strings attached, many societal challenges would efficiently be addressed. This, together with a raft of other economic policy proposals, becomes a radical agenda for redressing the pretty pickle capitalism has got us into.

Lots to think about and plenty of relevant and up-to-date data to back up the thinking.

[Chiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t manage to finish it, I found it a bit too heavy