Offers an in-depth examination of the economic theory behind the causes, consequences, and cures for economic inequality. Offers two-to three-page summaries of notable articles and book chapters in this frontier area of the field of economics, bringing together disparate analyses of inequality in economics and related fields, identifying areas where more work is needed, and laying the groundwork for an integrated understanding of inequality in the US and the world. The editors are affiliated with the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The disparity in wealth both within and between nations has grown rapidly in recent years, and is becoming an increasingly significant issue in attempts to deal with environmental problems -- from international negotiations over climate change to local concerns about environmental justice.The Political Economy of Inequality offers an in-depth examination of the economic theory behind the causes, consequences, and cures for inequality. The volume brings together disparate analyses of inequality in economic and related fields, identifies areas where more work is most needed, and lays the groundwork for an integrated understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality in the United States and the world.Sections cover: the distribution of earnings the distribution of wealth celebrity and CEO incomes the effects of corporate power poverty, inequality, and power household roles and family structure skills, technology, and education categorical inequalities, such as those based on race, gender, or ethnicity inequality on a global scale the welfare state The book is the fifth in the six-volume Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series. Each volume offers two- to three-page summaries of the most notable articles and chapters in a "frontier" area where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the standard definition of economics. Introductory essays by the editors review the field, cite other literature that was not summarized, and situate the summarized articles within an overview of the subject.As with the other volumes in the series, The Political Economy of Inequality offers an invaluable overview of an emerging field of economics and is a unique reference for students and scholars concerned with economic policy, social economics, work and labor issues, international and sustainable development, or related topics.
Authors of Original Articles xix Foreword xxiii Derek Bok Acknowledgments xxvii Volume Introduction xxix Neva Goodwin Frank Ackerman PART I Unequal Earnings: Theory versus Reality Overview Essay 1(9) Frank Ackerman Bringing Income Distribution In from the Cold 10(4) Anthony B. Atkinson Wage Polarization in the U.S. and the ``Flexibility Debate 14(4) Bennett Harrison Barry Bluestone Wielding the Stick 18(3) David M. Gordon Rising Wage Inequality: The U.S. versus Other Advanced Countries 21(4) Richard B. Freeman Lawrence F. Katz Inequality, Unemployment, Inflation, and Growth 25(4) James K. Galbraith Trends in the Level and Distribution of U.S. Living Standards: 1973-1993 29(4) Gary Burtless PART II The Distribution of Wealth and Power Overview Essay 33(9) Frank Ackerman International Comparisons of Wealth Inequality 42(3) Edward N. Wolff Long-Term Trends in American Wealth Inequality 45(3) Jeffrey G. Williamson Peter H. Lindert A Story of Two Nations: Race and Wealth 48(4) Melvin L. Oliver Thomas M. Shapiro The Corporate Community and the Upper Class 52(4) G. William Domhoff Structures of Corporate Control 56(5) John Scott PART III New Paths to the Top: CEO and Celebrity Compensation Overview Essay 61(16) Frank Ackerman How Winner-Take-All Markets Arise and The Growth of Winner-Take-All Markets 77(3) Robert H. Frank Philip J. Cook The Cost of Talent: Summing Up 80(4) Derek Bok Management Compensation Plans---Panacea or Placebo? 84(4) Michael T. Jacobs Top Executive Pay: Tournament or Teamwork? 88(3) Brian G. M. Main Charles A. OReilly III James Wade Why Do Pro Athletes Make So Much Money? 91(4) James Quirk Rodney D. Fort Marginal Revenue and Labor Strife in Major League Baseball 95(4) Dale R. Oorlog PART IV Corporate Power: Why Does It Matter? Overview Essay 99(13) Neva Goodwin Economy: The Political Foundations of Production and Exchange 112(4) Samuel Bowles Herbert Gintis Business Unity, Business Power 116(3) Dan Clawson Alan Neustadtl Denise Scott Bigness and Social Efficiency: A Case Study of the U.S. Auto Industry 119(4) Walter Adams James W. Brock The Dark Side of Flexible Production 123(4) Bennett Harrison Power, Accumulation, and Crisis: The Rise and Demise of the Postwar Social Structure of Accumulation 127(3) David M. Gordon Thomas E. Weisskopf Samuel Bowles The Mobilization of Corporate Conservatism 130(4) Jerome L. Himmelstein Markets and Politics 134(4) Robert Kuttner The Solution: A Better Scorecard and What the Scorecard Should Contain 138(5) Ralph Estes PART V Poverty, Inequality, and Power Overview Essay 143(8) Frank Ackerman Income, Deprivation, and Poverty and Implications for Conceptualizing and Measuring Poverty 151(4) Brain Nolan Christopher T. Whelan The Age of Extremes: Concentrated Affluence and Poverty in the Twenty-First Century 155(3) Douglas S. Massey Social Exclusion: Toward an Analytical and Operational Framework 158(4) Ajit S. Bhalla Frederic Lapeyre Poor Relief and the Dramaturgy of Work 162(4) Frances Fox Piven Richard Cloward Not Markets Alone: Enriching the Discussion of Income Distribution 166(5) Chris Tilly Randy Albelda PART VI Intrahousehold Dynamics and Changing Household Composition Overview Essay 171(11) Laurie Dougherty Trade, Merger, and Employment: Economic Theory on Marriage 182(4) Elaine McCrate Gender Coalitions: Extrafamily Influences in Intrafamily Inequality 186(4) Nancy Folbre Renegotiating the Marital Contract: Intrahousehold Patterns of Money Allocation and Womens Subordination Among Domestic Outworkers in Mexico City 190(4) Martha Roldan Incomes, Expenditures, and Health Outcomes: Evidence on Intrahousehold Resource Allocation 194(3) Duncan Thomas The Marginalization of Black Men: Impact on Family Structure 197(4) William A. Darity, Jr. Samuel L. Myers, Jr. Single Mothers in Sweden: Why Is Poverty Less Severe? 201(4) Siv Gustafsson PART VII Technology, Skills, and Education Overview Essay 205(9) Laurie Dougherty Institutional Failure and the American Worker: The Collapse of Low-Skill Wages 214(3) David R. Howell Technology and Changes in Skill Structure: Evidence from an International Panel of Industries 217(4) Stephen Machin Annette Ryan John Van Reenan The ``Skill-oriented Strategies of German Trade Unions: Their Impact on Efficiency and Equality Objectives 221(3) Birgit Mahnkopf Access to Education 224(4) Ajit S. Bhalla The Economics of Justice in Education 228(3) Henry M. Levin Making the Grade: Educational Stratification in the United States, 1925-1989 231(4) Michael Hout Adrian E. Raftery Eleanor O. Bell PART VIII Categorical Inequality Overview Essay 235(14) Laurie Dougherty Race and Gender Wage Gaps in the Market for Recent College Graduates 249(3) Catherine J. Weinberger Intergroup Disparity: Economic Theory and Social Science Evidence 252(3) William A. Darity, Jr. Whats Fairness Got To Do With It? Environmental Justice and the Siting of Locally Undesirable Land Uses 255(4) Vicki Been Tracking Racial Bias 259(3) Jerome G. Miller The Impact of Economic Change on Minorities and Migrants in Western Europe 262(4) Ian Gordon The Political Economy of Gender and Economic Progress and Gender Equality 266(4) Claudia Goldin The Gender Pay Gap 270(4) Francine D. Blau Social Construction of Skill: Gender, Power, and Comparable Worth 274(3) Ronnie J. Steinberg Racial Antagonisms and Race-Based Social Policy 277(4) William Julius Wilson The Future of Affirmative Action: Reclaiming the Innovative Ideal 281(6) Susan Sturm Lani Guinier PART IX World Income Inequality and the Poverty of Nations Overview Essay 287(12) Kevin Gallagher Divergence, Big Time 299(4) Lant Pritchett Globalization and Inequality, Past and Present 303(3) Jeffrey G. Williamson Income Distribution and Poverty: An Interregional Comparison 306(3) Kwan S. Kim Income Inequality and Development: The 1970s and 1980s Compared 309(4) Irma Adelman Nobuhiko Fuwa The Relationship Between Wage Inequality and International Trade 313(3) George J. Borjas Valerie A. Ramey Openness and Wage Inequality in Developing Countries: The Latin American Challenge to East Asian Conventional Wisdom 316(4) Adrian Wood The Distributional Impact of Privatization in Developing Countries 320(3) Paul Cook Colin Kirkpatrick Income Distribution in Developing Economies: Conceptual, Data, and Policy Issues in Broad-Based Growth 323(4) Gary Fields PART X Responses to Inequality: The Welfare State Overview Essay 327(12) Frank Ackerman Is There an Explanation? Alternative Models of the Labor Market and the Minimum Wage 339(4) David Card Alan B. Krueger Generating Equality and Eliminating Poverty, the Swedish Way 343(4) Anders Bjorklund Richard B. Freeman How Social Democracy Worked: Labor-Market Institutions 347(4) Karl Ove Moene Michael Wallerstein The American Paradox: High Income and High Child Poverty 351(3) Sheldon Danziger Sandra Danziger Jonathan Stern Who Paid for the Canadian Welfare State during 1955-1988? 354(3) Ardeshir Sepehri Robert Chernomas On Targeting and Family Benefits 357(4) Anthony B. Atkinson Bibliography 361(16) Subject Index 377(24) Name Index 401
