World Inequality Report 2018: 2018

Book

World Inequality Report 2018

2018

Edited by: Facundo Alvaredo , Lucas Chancel , Thomas Piketty , Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2018

Published by

View more publications by Harvard University Press

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About this book

World Inequality Report 2018 is the most authoritative and up-to-date account of global trends in inequality. Researched, compiled, and written by a team of the world’s leading economists, it presents—with unrivaled clarity and depth—information and analysis that will be vital to policy makers and scholars everywhere.

Reviews

Examining the World Inequality Report—…by the creators of the World Wealth and Income Database, who include the economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez—it is tempting to see the rising concentration of incomes as some sort of unstoppable force of nature, an economic inevitability driven by globalization and technology… And yet, a careful examination of the data suggests there is nothing inevitable about untrammeled inequality.
-- Eduardo Porter and Karl Russell New York Times

Back in 1980, the bottom 50 percent of wage-earners in the United States earned about 21 percent of all income in the country—nearly twice as much as the share of income (11 percent) earned by the top 1 percent of Americans. But today, according to [World Inequality Report 2018], those numbers have nearly reversed: the bottom 50 percent only take in 13 percent of the income pie, while the top 1 percent grab over 20 percent of the country’s income.
-- Christopher Ingraham Chicago Tribune

The 2018 World Inequality Report shows the share of wealth held by the top 1% of earners in the U.S. doubled from 10% to 20% between 1980 and 2016, while the bottom 50% fell from 20% to 13% in the same period.
-- Kofi Annan Quartz

Sure to become a standard source for data on income and wealth inequality.
-- Richard N. Cooper Foreign Affairs

Three and a half years ago, the English publication of Thomas Piketty’s surprise bestseller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, sparked an international debate about the roots of rising inequality. Today, [World Inequality Report 2018] makes for equally sobering reading: The gap between rich and poor has increased in nearly every region in the world over the past few decades.
-- Eshe Nelson Quartz

Sure to spark discussion on national policy and its effects on wealth and inequality, making it a much-needed resource.
-- Muhammed Hassanali Booklist

Topics

Business and Economics Political Economics Political Economics, other

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Highlights for 2018 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
Introduction: Better Inequality Data for a More Informed Democratic Debate Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	17
PART I. The WID.world Project
1. The Measurement of Economic Inequality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	23
PART II. Trends in Global Income Inequality
2. Global Income Inequality Dynamics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	39
3. Trends in Income Inequality between Countries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	60
4. Trends in Income Inequality within Countries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	70
5. Income Inequality in the United States Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	83
6. Income Inequality in France Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	100
7. Income Inequality in Germany Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	110
8. Income Inequality in China Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	116
9. Income Inequality in Russia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	124
10. Income Inequality in India Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	136
11. Income Inequality in the Middle East Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	145
12. Income Inequality in Brazil Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	154
13. Income Inequality in South Africa Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	162
PART III. Public versus Private Capital Dynamics
14. Wealth-Income Ratios across the World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	171
15. The Evolution of Aggregate Wealth-Income in Developed Countries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	182
16. Comparing the Experiences of Former Communist States Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	193
17. Capital Accumulation, Private Property, and Rising Inequality in China Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	201
18. The Rise of Private Property in Russia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	209
PART IV. Trends in Global Wealth Inequality
19. Global Wealth Inequality: Trends and Projections Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	219
20. Comparing Trends in Personal Wealth Inequality across the World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	228
21. Wealth Inequality in the United States Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	236
22. Wealth Inequality in France Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	244
23. Wealth Inequality in Spain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	257
24. Wealth Inequality in the UK Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	269
PART V. Tackling Economic Inequality
25. What is the Future of Global Income Inequality? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	279
26. Tackling Rising Inequality at the Top: The Role of Progressive Taxation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	286
27. Tax Policy in a Global Environment: The Case for a Global Financial Register Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	294
28. Tackling Inequality at the Bottom: The Need for More Equal Access to Education and Good-Paying Jobs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	299
29. A Message from the Past: Let Governments Invest in the Future Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	310
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	317
Appendix Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	321
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	325

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

July 9, 2018

eBook ISBN:

9780674984769

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Main content:

370

Other:

40 tables and 90 graphs

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674984769

eBook ISBN: 9780674984769

World Inequality Report 2018

Overview

About this book

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

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