Cover: The Economics of Inequality, from Harvard University PressCover: The Economics of Inequality in HARDCOVER

The Economics of Inequality

Product Details

HARDCOVER

$27.00 • £23.95 • €24.95

ISBN 9780674504806

Publication Date: 08/03/2015

* Academic Trade

160 pages

5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches

2 graphs, 9 tables

Belknap Press

World

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  • Note to the Reader
  • Introduction
  • 1. The Measurement of Inequality and Its Evolution
    • Different Types of Income
    • Wage Inequality
      • International Comparisons
    • Income Inequality
      • International Comparisons
    • Inequalities in Time and Space
    • The Historical Evolution of Inequality
      • From Laws of History to Uncertainties
      • From Wages to Incomes
      • Inequality with Respect to Employment
  • 2. Capital-Labor Inequality
    • The Share of Capital in Total Income
      • The Question of Capital/Labor Substitution
        • What Capital/Labor Substitution Means
        • Redistribution: “Fiscal” or “Direct”?
        • The Elasticity of Substitution between Capital and Labor
        • The Elasticity of Capital Supply
        • Are Capitalists and the Price System Necessary?
      • A Compromise between Short-Term and Long-Term Theories?
        • From Share of Value-Added to Household Income
        • What the Constancy of the Profit Share Tells Us
        • Who Pays Social Charges (Payroll Taxes)?
        • A Cobb-Douglas Production Function?
        • Historical Time versus Political Time?
        • Why Has the Profit Share Not Increased in the United States and United Kingdom?
    • The Dynamics of the Distribution of Capital
      • The Theory of Perfect Credit and Convergence
        • The Question of Convergence between Rich and Poor Countries
      • The Problem of Capital Market Imperfections
        • Possible Public Interventions
        • A Flat Tax on Capital?
  • 3. Inequality of Labor Income
    • Inequality of Wages and Human Capital
      • The Explanatory Power of the Theory of Human Capital
        • Important Historical Inequalities
        • Supply and Demand
        • The Rise of Wage Inequality since 1970
        • Skill-Biased Technological Change?
        • Wage Inequality and Globalization
      • How to Redistribute Labor Income
        • A Major Political Issue
      • Where Does Human Capital Inequality Come From?
        • Efficient Inequality?
        • The Role of the Family and Educational Expenses
        • The Problem of Inefficient Segregation of Human Capital
        • Discrimination in the Labor Market
        • Affirmative Action versus Fiscal Transfers
    • The Social Determination of Wage Inequality
      • The Role of Unions in Setting Wages
        • Unions as Substitutes for Fiscal Redistribution?
        • Do Unions Contribute to Economic Efficiency?
      • The Monopsony Power of Employers
        • When Does a Higher Minimum Wage Increase the Level of Employment?
      • Efficiency Wages and Fair Wages
        • National Traditions and Wage Inequality
  • 4. Instruments of Redistribution
    • Pure Redistribution
      • Average and Marginal Rates of Redistribution
        • The Absence of Redistribution between Workers
        • The U-Shaped Curve of Marginal Rates
      • Just Fiscal Redistribution
        • Do High Taxes Diminish Revenue?
        • The Earned Income Tax Credit in the United States
        • Fiscal Redistribution to Reduce Unemployment?
        • Negative Income Tax and Basic Income
    • Efficient Redistribution
      • Redistribution and Social Insurance
        • Efficient Social Insurance
        • Is Social Insurance an Instrument of Fiscal Redistribution?
      • Redistribution and Demand
  • References
  • Contents in Detail
  • Index

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