Tag Archives: inequality

Two years ago I posted my first guest blog focused on income inequality, specifically how changes in Canada’s redistribution over the last three decades have increased after-tax income inequality, and how these changes compared to OECD trends. The figures and analysis in this post update the earlier blog, based on the most recent OECD data to 2015. I also look at the market inequality-redistribution relationship and find that Canada is the only country that combines low market inequality...

I’ve just written a blog post about homelessness and employment, with a focus on Calgary (where I live and work). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Persons experiencing homelessness usually have poor health outcomes, making it especially challenging to find and sustain employment. -There are several non-profits in Calgary that assist persons experiencing homelessness to find and sustain work. -Persons finding the most success in those programs tend to be relatively...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A recent literature has explored growing personal wealth inequality in countries around the world. This column explores the widening wealth gap between regions and across states in Europe. Using data going back to 1900, it shows that regional convergence ended around 1980 and the gap has been growing since then, with capital regions and declining industrial regions at the two extremes. This rise in regional inequality, combined with rising personal...

Presenting the Lecture Here is the audio file of Jamie Galbraith inaugural Godley-Tobin Lecture. Due to the weather he recorded the lecture before hand. The paper will appear in the Review of Keynesian Economics (ROKE) soon. Jamie presents a macro discussion of income distribution, which he correctly points out has been absent from most discussion of inequality in recent times.Further, he connects his concern with the data (the UNIDO data that his team at UTIP has worked on for years...

Chris Rock may be right. Still, Americans are well aware that economic inequalityin their country is obscene, even though they often underestimate the growing gap between the poor and the rich. But it’s Frank Rich, who conducted the interview with the American comedian, who made the more perceptive observation: For all the current conversation about income inequality, class is still sort of the elephant in the room. Occasional Links & Commentary“If poor people knew how rich rich...

Globalization has led to a rise in global income inequality, not a reduction.Income doesn’t trickle down.Policy – not trade or technology – is most responsible for inequality. Demand lagging capability to supply due to hoarding at the top end. Contrary to the assumptions of neoclassical economics, distribution counts. This should be obvious since in a capitalistic system distribution is through markets where goods are rationed by price and ability to pay. But the "laws of economics" seem to...

I’ve written a blog post about this year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s AFB would create 470,000 (full-time equivalent) jobs in its first year alone. By year 2 of the plan, 600,000 new (full-time equivalent) jobs will exist. -This year’s AFB will also bring in universal pharmacare, address involuntary part-time employment among women, eliminate tuition fees for all post-secondary students in Canada, speed up...

Bill answers the main questions about MMT and a progressive agenda to address wealth inequality. There is no need for a currency issuer to tax to obtain the funds it issues itself. The reasons that a currency issuer should tax excessive wealth is political, in that wealth conveys political power. Neoliberalism differs from classical liberalism (laissez-faire) by harnessing government to promoting the interests of capital rather than reducing government involvement in the economy as...

Occasional Links & CommentaryWhat, us worry? David F. Ruccio | Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame

In anticipation of tomorrow’s provincial budget in British Columbia (BC), I’ve written a blog post about the state of homelessness in that province. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Public operating spending by BC’s provincial government has decreased over the past 20 years. -Even after controlling for inflation, average rent levels across the province increased by 24% between 1990 and 2016. -Over the past several decades, various reforms to BC’s social assistance...