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inequality

World economy 27th December 2014

Inequality and growth

MADRID | By Luis Arroyo | What has growth to do with growing inequality?  Until recently, we thought that inequality favoured growth, or in anycase it had a neutral impact on it. Growth was the “best supplier” to create new opportunities, through the vertical mobility of the most flexible countries. But the OECD released this report showing how inequality “significantly” curbs economic prosperity. And yet, Krugman is skeptical that the inverse correlation between inequality and growth is so obvious. According to him, strong evidence is lacking, and there are signs that part of inequality can be cured with growth.

World economy 7th August 2014

Top One Percent Has One Third of China’s Wealth, Research Shows

BEIJING | By Zhou Dongxu (Caixin) | China’s income inequality is relatively high, and its wealth inequality, as measured by the Gini index, is greater than its income inequality. The U.S.’ income inequality index is lower than China’s, but its wealth inequality is higher – Its Gini coefficient for household wealth was 0.8, compared with China’s 0.73. This is because the United States has a relatively mature market economy, where wealth has been accumulated slowly through income and investment. Many in China, however, own homes allocated to them by the government. As those homes’ value increased, so did their wealth.

No Picture

World economy 30th July 2014

Find the inequality debate boring? Then check the numbers again

MADRID | The Corner | One of 2014 most commented/loved/bashed books has been Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century”, which put such an old concept as inequality back on the table. The truth is, as inequality is reducing on a global scale, it is increasing within many economies, including emerging countries like China and India. Increasing access to education and electricity in poor countries and areas pays out, as the World Bank is underlining in a campaign (check the video above).

Tax breaks

World economy 12th July 2014

Where does $2 Trillion in subsidies for the wealthiest hide? Capital gains tax breaks

WASHINTON, DC via Next New Deal |  By Harry Stein | Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz takes a hard look at subsidies for investment income. He advocates taxing capital gains and dividends at the same rates as ordinary income. Under current law, the federal government will deliver an estimated $1.34 trillion in subsidies to investors over the next 10 years in the form of reduced tax rates for capital gains and dividends. Sixty-eight percent of that money will go to the top 1 percent. Stiglitz argues that there is “no justification for taxing those who work hard to earn a living at a higher rate than those who derive their income from speculation.”

Michael Hudson

World economy 2nd May 2014

Piketty’s Wealth Gap Wake Up (Part I)

KANSAS CITY | By Truman Factor| Karl Fitzgerald of Renegade Economists and Michael Hudson review French economist Thomas Piketty’s new book, Capital in the 21st Century, which is barnstorming the world at the moment. One of his important discoveries is the disparity in wealth is much greater than the disparity of income because of tax avoidance by the rich. They don’t earn an income.