IEB Report

Political Economy

Inequality: measurement and policies

IEB Report 4/2016

In recent years, numerous books and articles on inequality have seen light of day (including those penned by Anthony Atkinson, Branko Milanovic,Thomas Piketty and Joseph Stiglitz).This growing presence of inequality in academic debate coexists with an increasing awareness of the phenomenon in the public sphere, as evidenced, for example, by the recent campaigns launched by Oxfam Intermon, which have had considerable repercussions. Inequality can be considered an area of “unresolved business” as far as Economics is concerned. In historical terms, mankind has made great strides in its material living standards, but economic progress has been accompanied by great disparities in individual well-being (Deaton, 2013).