What do you think?
Rate this book
Unbound: How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do about It
From one of Washington’s most influential voices on economic policy, a lively and original argument that reducing inequality is not just fair but also key to delivering broadly shared economic growth and stability.
Do we have to choose between equality and prosperity? Many think that reducing economic inequality would require such heavy-handed interference with market forces that it would stifle economic growth. Heather Boushey, one of Washington’s most influential economic voices, insists nothing could be further from the truth. Presenting cutting-edge economics with journalistic verve, she shows how rising inequality has become a drag on growth and an impediment to a competitive United States marketplace for employers and employees alike.
Boushey argues that inequality undermines growth in three ways. It obstructs the supply of talent, ideas, and capital as wealthy families monopolize the best educational, social, and economic opportunities. It also subverts private competition and public investment. Powerful corporations muscle competitors out of business, in the process costing consumers, suppressing wages, and hobbling innovation, while governments underfund key public goods that make the American Dream possible, from schools to transportation infrastructure to information and communication technology networks. Finally, it distorts consumer demand as stagnant wages and meager workplace benefits rob ordinary people of buying power and pushes the economy toward financial instability.
Boushey makes this case with a clear, accessible tour of the best of contemporary economic research, while also injecting a passion for her subject gained through years of research into the economics of work–life conflict and policy work in the trenches of federal government. Unbound exposes deep problems in the U.S. economy, but its conclusion is optimistic. We can preserve the best of our nation’s economic and political traditions, and improve on them, by pursuing policies that reduce inequality―and by doing so, boost broadly shared economic growth.
Do we have to choose between equality and prosperity? Many think that reducing economic inequality would require such heavy-handed interference with market forces that it would stifle economic growth. Heather Boushey, one of Washington’s most influential economic voices, insists nothing could be further from the truth. Presenting cutting-edge economics with journalistic verve, she shows how rising inequality has become a drag on growth and an impediment to a competitive United States marketplace for employers and employees alike.
Boushey argues that inequality undermines growth in three ways. It obstructs the supply of talent, ideas, and capital as wealthy families monopolize the best educational, social, and economic opportunities. It also subverts private competition and public investment. Powerful corporations muscle competitors out of business, in the process costing consumers, suppressing wages, and hobbling innovation, while governments underfund key public goods that make the American Dream possible, from schools to transportation infrastructure to information and communication technology networks. Finally, it distorts consumer demand as stagnant wages and meager workplace benefits rob ordinary people of buying power and pushes the economy toward financial instability.
Boushey makes this case with a clear, accessible tour of the best of contemporary economic research, while also injecting a passion for her subject gained through years of research into the economics of work–life conflict and policy work in the trenches of federal government. Unbound exposes deep problems in the U.S. economy, but its conclusion is optimistic. We can preserve the best of our nation’s economic and political traditions, and improve on them, by pursuing policies that reduce inequality―and by doing so, boost broadly shared economic growth.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published October 15, 2019
About the author
Heather Boushey
17 books21 followersHeather Boushey is Executive Director and Chief Economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 11, 2021
Had to read this book for pub aff class lol (would not have picked it up on my own), but I thought it was pretty good. Argues that we don’t have to choose between equality and prosperity if only we can implement effective social policies and STOP TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH obvi lol to afford said policies.
April 17, 2020
Well done taking dry left brain data and putting meaningful right brain meat on its bones. Heather Boushey brilliantly deconstructs how market libertarians have misappropriated Adam Smith for their own ideology of selfish gain at the expense of society's rightful economic health. With facts and data the author skewers the rationale underlying the supply side snake oil that has dominated economic assumptions in recent decades—by disproving the assertions of frequently cited libertarians such as Milton Friedman and Jean-Baptiste Say, and corroborating opposing analyses by Thomas Piketty and other economists.
The answer is in the disaggregation of economic data, and in looking beyond the basically useless GDP metrics to focusing on the effects that economic events have on regular consumers. Throughout the book Boushey demonstrates how inequality affects economic outcomes—and how economic power is used to distort social and economic policies toward profits for the few, with vastly reduced industrial productivity and negligible research and development. It's not a matter of charity toward the less capable, but rather that of providing the actual producers (workers and inventors) their just due.
Methods to correct this economic distortion include reinstituting Progressive and New Deal era regulations on financial institutions and corporations. This may be done with updated approaches based on new data made possible by the increased computing power that was not available in the early and mid-20th Century. With these computing resources, economists may now objectively demonstrate the need to jettison the libertarian ideology that has been disproved by empirical data. The political changes needed that are indicated by these new data are obvious.
The COVID-19 pandemic only makes the corrective measures presented in this book all the more urgent. Let's get to it!
The answer is in the disaggregation of economic data, and in looking beyond the basically useless GDP metrics to focusing on the effects that economic events have on regular consumers. Throughout the book Boushey demonstrates how inequality affects economic outcomes—and how economic power is used to distort social and economic policies toward profits for the few, with vastly reduced industrial productivity and negligible research and development. It's not a matter of charity toward the less capable, but rather that of providing the actual producers (workers and inventors) their just due.
Methods to correct this economic distortion include reinstituting Progressive and New Deal era regulations on financial institutions and corporations. This may be done with updated approaches based on new data made possible by the increased computing power that was not available in the early and mid-20th Century. With these computing resources, economists may now objectively demonstrate the need to jettison the libertarian ideology that has been disproved by empirical data. The political changes needed that are indicated by these new data are obvious.
The COVID-19 pandemic only makes the corrective measures presented in this book all the more urgent. Let's get to it!
November 9, 2023
Heather makes the argument that economic inequality is fundamentally important to understanding the dynamics of the economy and that economics is undergoing a paradigm shift to include and think about this as new data is measured and old data is processed. She gives a few helpful insights of what to do with the knowledge, but I wish she would have gotten a little more practical.
May 24, 2020
O livro compila uma série de estudos com o intuito de avaliar o problema da crescente desigualdade econômica nos Estados Unidos. A esse respeito, há um grande disclaimer sobre a necessidade de o trabalho ser encarado como um estudo de caso bastante específico para o país em questão. Logo, um leitor brasileiro precisa ter cautela ao trazer conclusões para o cenário nacional, onde existem tantas outras causas que agravam o quadro de desigualdade econômica. Mas, de forma muitíssimo resumida, a lição talvez mais "universalizável" é que níveis crescentes de desigualdade econômica, que vêm se acumulando por lá ao longo de décadas, terminam por afetar negativamente o crescimento econômico e a estabilidade financeira. No limite, a concentração excessiva de riqueza, com um número crescente de pessoas tendo renda suficiente apenas para consumir o mínimo indispensável à subsistência, deprime a demanda por outros bens e serviços e é vista como um freio ao crescimento econômico.
As questões analisadas são diversas, e contêm lições que podem ser importantes no desenho de políticas públicas relacionadas à educação infantil, mercado de trabalho, política tributária, legislação antitruste e defesa do consumidor. Ao avaliar a importância de políticas de atenção à o primeira infância, por exemplo, são apresentados diversos estudos sobre como o investimento em educação infantil e em políticas de atenção à família tende a gerar ganhos que se perpetuam ao longo de toda a vida do cidadão, colonado em desvantagem, já no início da vida, os que não têm acesso a esses cuidados. Os estudos citados me fizeram lembrar diversas questões que também são exploradas em um outro livro bem conhecido, o "Outliers", do Malcom Gladwell. Na sequência, há toda uma parte dedicada a investigar as fontes para persistentes desigualdades no mercado de trabalho que afetam mulheres e minorias, e é bem interessante a demonstração de como muitas vezes a discriminação acontece de forma bem velada - e me arrisco a dizer que até inconsciente em determinados casos. Nessa parte, em vários momentos a leitura me trouxe recordações de uma outra leitura, a do livro "Subliminar", do físico Leonard Mlodinow. A boa notícia é que a partir do diagnóstico do problema é possível se pensar em sugestões e políticas para lidar com a questão, e muitas das propostas apresentadas dependem mais de vontade política do que de orçamentos generosos.
Em outros casos, contudo, a leitura me pareceu desalentadora, justamente pela dificuldade em enxergar alternativas viáveis para tratar algumas tendências apontadas como causa de desigualdades crescentes. Na parte sobre mercado de trabalho, por exemplo, o recurso crescente à terceirização é visto como um limitador de carreiras, na medida em que restringe as possibilidades de ascensão vertical dentro das corporações. Lembram da história, ainda que improvável, do jovem que começa a trabalhar adolescente como contínuo e chega a presidente do banco? Boushey que a terceirização dificulta sobremaneira esse tipo de ascensão profissional, e o mais provável é que o contínuo terceirizado exerça a mesma função o resto da vida, sendo remanejado para prestar serviços em empresas diferentes, conforme a demanda. A concentração de mercado e o abuso do poder econômico também são vistos como limitadores contemporâneso de oportunidades profissionais - e a autora cita alguns exemplos bastante contundentes nos setores de saúde e telecomunicações. A conclusão, nesses casos, é que o direito antitruste deveria abordar também essa dimensão, não se focando exclusivamente nos efeitos sobre os mercados consumidores. Trata-se de uma questão delicadíssima para a área, e certamente não é de f��cil solução.
Na parte dedicada à política econômica e tributária, é mais um estudo crítico às políticas de desoneração tributária para o "andar de cima" baseadas na premissa de que menos impostos resultariam em maiores investimentos, mais desenvolvimento e mais consumo, com todo mundo se beneficiando da "subida da maré", para usar uma expressão utilizada por John Kennedy (o equivalente no Brasil seria a ideia de "crescer o bolo para depois dividir). O livro traz exemplos, estaduais e federais, de políticas de desonerações tributárias que teriam trazido impactos negativos sobre as contas públicas, sem entregar o crescimento econômico prometido, obrigando a cortes de gastos em áreas sensíveis como educação e saneamento.
Nos capítulos finais toca-se em uma questão bastante delicada que é o endividamento crescente das famílias, inclusive as de classe média, como alternativa para manter padrões de consumo, financiar a habitação e estudos de nível superior, em cenários de ganhos reais decrescentes e de maior volatilidade do mercado de trabalho. O endividamento amplificaria os efeitos de eventos como a perda de um emprego e a dificuldade de recolocação em períodos de crise econômica, aumentando os riscos para a estabilidade financeira. É algo que aconteceu durante a crise do subprime de 2008 e, nesse ponto, torna-se inevitável pensar que provavelmente se repetirá diante da pandemia do coronavírus.
As questões analisadas são diversas, e contêm lições que podem ser importantes no desenho de políticas públicas relacionadas à educação infantil, mercado de trabalho, política tributária, legislação antitruste e defesa do consumidor. Ao avaliar a importância de políticas de atenção à o primeira infância, por exemplo, são apresentados diversos estudos sobre como o investimento em educação infantil e em políticas de atenção à família tende a gerar ganhos que se perpetuam ao longo de toda a vida do cidadão, colonado em desvantagem, já no início da vida, os que não têm acesso a esses cuidados. Os estudos citados me fizeram lembrar diversas questões que também são exploradas em um outro livro bem conhecido, o "Outliers", do Malcom Gladwell. Na sequência, há toda uma parte dedicada a investigar as fontes para persistentes desigualdades no mercado de trabalho que afetam mulheres e minorias, e é bem interessante a demonstração de como muitas vezes a discriminação acontece de forma bem velada - e me arrisco a dizer que até inconsciente em determinados casos. Nessa parte, em vários momentos a leitura me trouxe recordações de uma outra leitura, a do livro "Subliminar", do físico Leonard Mlodinow. A boa notícia é que a partir do diagnóstico do problema é possível se pensar em sugestões e políticas para lidar com a questão, e muitas das propostas apresentadas dependem mais de vontade política do que de orçamentos generosos.
Em outros casos, contudo, a leitura me pareceu desalentadora, justamente pela dificuldade em enxergar alternativas viáveis para tratar algumas tendências apontadas como causa de desigualdades crescentes. Na parte sobre mercado de trabalho, por exemplo, o recurso crescente à terceirização é visto como um limitador de carreiras, na medida em que restringe as possibilidades de ascensão vertical dentro das corporações. Lembram da história, ainda que improvável, do jovem que começa a trabalhar adolescente como contínuo e chega a presidente do banco? Boushey que a terceirização dificulta sobremaneira esse tipo de ascensão profissional, e o mais provável é que o contínuo terceirizado exerça a mesma função o resto da vida, sendo remanejado para prestar serviços em empresas diferentes, conforme a demanda. A concentração de mercado e o abuso do poder econômico também são vistos como limitadores contemporâneso de oportunidades profissionais - e a autora cita alguns exemplos bastante contundentes nos setores de saúde e telecomunicações. A conclusão, nesses casos, é que o direito antitruste deveria abordar também essa dimensão, não se focando exclusivamente nos efeitos sobre os mercados consumidores. Trata-se de uma questão delicadíssima para a área, e certamente não é de f��cil solução.
Na parte dedicada à política econômica e tributária, é mais um estudo crítico às políticas de desoneração tributária para o "andar de cima" baseadas na premissa de que menos impostos resultariam em maiores investimentos, mais desenvolvimento e mais consumo, com todo mundo se beneficiando da "subida da maré", para usar uma expressão utilizada por John Kennedy (o equivalente no Brasil seria a ideia de "crescer o bolo para depois dividir). O livro traz exemplos, estaduais e federais, de políticas de desonerações tributárias que teriam trazido impactos negativos sobre as contas públicas, sem entregar o crescimento econômico prometido, obrigando a cortes de gastos em áreas sensíveis como educação e saneamento.
Nos capítulos finais toca-se em uma questão bastante delicada que é o endividamento crescente das famílias, inclusive as de classe média, como alternativa para manter padrões de consumo, financiar a habitação e estudos de nível superior, em cenários de ganhos reais decrescentes e de maior volatilidade do mercado de trabalho. O endividamento amplificaria os efeitos de eventos como a perda de um emprego e a dificuldade de recolocação em períodos de crise econômica, aumentando os riscos para a estabilidade financeira. É algo que aconteceu durante a crise do subprime de 2008 e, nesse ponto, torna-se inevitável pensar que provavelmente se repetirá diante da pandemia do coronavírus.
June 22, 2020
Inequality is reflected in the hollowing out of the middle class, the ability of the superrich (the top 1%) to capture increasing percentages of aggregate national economic growth, income, and wealth, the increasing inability of members of the economic underclass to escape the poverty or low-income circumstances into which they are born, and the stunting of aggregate economic growth.
Boushey explains all this and much more. She notes that it is the job of economists to guide public policy and that their knowledge of economics is not static. To the contrary, the development of strong computing power over the last 20 years has given economists the tools needed to better understand how aggregate measures of economic growth, income or wealth, are distributed within the American population. Economists are realizing that standard aggregate measures of growth, income, or wealth, such as gross domestic product are no longer sufficient. Americans with varying amounts of income or wealth deserve to know how the American economic success - or the lack thereof - is experienced by people like themselves. They deserve governmental policies that help ensure strong broad-based growth that benefits all classes of Americans. The "invisible hand" of capitalism - the idea that capitalism, in and of itself and without government assistance or intervention, provides optimal economic outcomes - is no longer true in the United States of the 21st century.
This is a book about economics but one doesn't have to be an economist to read and understand it (even though some knowledge of economics is no doubt helpful). It is written for the layperson. Boushey does a good job of helping the reader understand where the economy has been going, and what types of actions need to be taken to improve economic outcomes for all of us.
Boushey explains all this and much more. She notes that it is the job of economists to guide public policy and that their knowledge of economics is not static. To the contrary, the development of strong computing power over the last 20 years has given economists the tools needed to better understand how aggregate measures of economic growth, income or wealth, are distributed within the American population. Economists are realizing that standard aggregate measures of growth, income, or wealth, such as gross domestic product are no longer sufficient. Americans with varying amounts of income or wealth deserve to know how the American economic success - or the lack thereof - is experienced by people like themselves. They deserve governmental policies that help ensure strong broad-based growth that benefits all classes of Americans. The "invisible hand" of capitalism - the idea that capitalism, in and of itself and without government assistance or intervention, provides optimal economic outcomes - is no longer true in the United States of the 21st century.
This is a book about economics but one doesn't have to be an economist to read and understand it (even though some knowledge of economics is no doubt helpful). It is written for the layperson. Boushey does a good job of helping the reader understand where the economy has been going, and what types of actions need to be taken to improve economic outcomes for all of us.
January 27, 2021
Boushey does a nice job of making a historical case for the importance of the differences in income between upper and lower income earners and explains how this can cause other social ills. Her perspective is that the underlying factors, which to her are mainly in the private sector, of income inequality weaken the fabrics of our economy and contribute to the destitution of many people. Because of this, she argues that government should do more redistribute income from upper income earners to lower income earners and strengthen the safety nets while also growing the influence that government has to focus on inequality.
While Boushey does a nice job of making the historical case and providing examples, the assumptions are clearly based on a progressive lens. This is seen from the envy places on upper income earners whether lower income earners have it or not. There are also weak assumptions that consumption drives economic growth and somehow upper income earners saving a larger share of their income even as they still consumer more in dollar terms than lower income earners missed the necessity of supplying one’s time and resources to invest and save before consumption is possible. There is also a flawed assumption that the market is the problem when in fact many of the concerns throughout the book are government failures, whether they be from monetary, fiscal, or regulatory policies. Because of these overlooked factors and assumptions and more, I think the policy prescriptions aren’t valid and will make the problems worse.
I give this book 4 stars as it is well-written and made me think, even as I disagree with much of it. Those are some of my favorite books!
While Boushey does a nice job of making the historical case and providing examples, the assumptions are clearly based on a progressive lens. This is seen from the envy places on upper income earners whether lower income earners have it or not. There are also weak assumptions that consumption drives economic growth and somehow upper income earners saving a larger share of their income even as they still consumer more in dollar terms than lower income earners missed the necessity of supplying one’s time and resources to invest and save before consumption is possible. There is also a flawed assumption that the market is the problem when in fact many of the concerns throughout the book are government failures, whether they be from monetary, fiscal, or regulatory policies. Because of these overlooked factors and assumptions and more, I think the policy prescriptions aren’t valid and will make the problems worse.
I give this book 4 stars as it is well-written and made me think, even as I disagree with much of it. Those are some of my favorite books!
May 2, 2021
Heather Boushey does a great job making a concise and clear argument about the role of inequality in the modern economy. Most crucially, Boushey makes use of empirical evidence that undermines the age-old understanding of the idea of the invisible hand of the free market. With growing financial power and increased disparity in income and wealth, the top decile of earners in the United States possess political power that is unprecedented in American history. With this, the average American is subject to the rule of the rich and naturally, the prospects of jumping economic brackets is increasingly difficult. Boushey also looks into the danger of growing market concentration in various industries and how detrimental this is to the operations of the free market and the wellbeing of workers. Further, she makes a compelling argument about the predictive nature of adolescence in lifetime earnings on the path to clear documentation of how crucial it is to invest in parents, communities, and education. All in all this book is an indisputable take on the failings of the modern economy and should be required reading for any policymakers and economists.
February 6, 2020
A very important book indicating that the economics profession is in ferment - and going through a paradigm shift - away from gdp being the metric to distribution analysis of g d p growth by income quartile - attempting to document whether income growth is widely shared.
I think this is a reaction to the 1980’s adoption (Reagan and Thatcher) of 1970’s economic theories put forward by the University if Chicago School and Milton and Rose Friedman (see Free to Choose). This model has been adopted on steroids (Supply Side Economics) without any feedback loops concerning what actually happens. See gov Brownback and the disastrous Kansas experiment.
Although advocating for distribution analysis - author is less clear on which policies enacted in which way would generate income more broadly.
Income inequality is an important issue - well documented in this important.
Should be of interest to those who follow Economics and Politics.
Carl Gallozzi
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
I think this is a reaction to the 1980’s adoption (Reagan and Thatcher) of 1970’s economic theories put forward by the University if Chicago School and Milton and Rose Friedman (see Free to Choose). This model has been adopted on steroids (Supply Side Economics) without any feedback loops concerning what actually happens. See gov Brownback and the disastrous Kansas experiment.
Although advocating for distribution analysis - author is less clear on which policies enacted in which way would generate income more broadly.
Income inequality is an important issue - well documented in this important.
Should be of interest to those who follow Economics and Politics.
Carl Gallozzi
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
September 19, 2020
Author Heather Boushey makes a convincing case that income disparities have crippled our economy and gutted the middle and lower classes. Her collation of recent research bears out the need to support a paradigm shift in economic policy. Her subtitle How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It kept me reading as the pileup of anti super rich evidence continued. However, this fairly recent book (only a few months old, but pre-Covid and 2020 dumpster fire of political polarization) fell flat at the end when she calls for solutions that hinge on bipartisan cooperation. That feels like a massive fantasy as I sit here grappling with the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the sickening glee expressed by McConnell and company to replace her as quickly as possible despite having blocked Merrill Garland’s nomination at the end of Obama’s second term. I’m one of the 99 percenters mourning being ruled by the shameless ruthless 1%.
September 12, 2020
Es un libro que resume porqué desigualdad es un problema y obstáculo para el crecimiento económico. El libro está dividido en tres partes: primera es sobre los efectos de desigualdad en resultados microeconómicos como salud y movilidad social, la segunda con respecto a efectos en competencia económica, y la tercera, la menos conocida para mi, es sus efectos en el sector financiero de la economía. Este tercer canal no se ha estudiado tanto, y fue refrescante leer un resumen de la bibliografía especializada en el tema, así como los canales de transmisión. Un libro bien escrito, rápido, aunque puede que sea un poco pesado para alguien no tan especialista en el tema.
December 1, 2020
Finished hearing this audiobook the week before Boushey was announced as a member of the new Biden CEA team. We are in good hands if Boushey can go from the pages here to craft actual real-world policy that will attempt to tackle the inequality issue head on. The book itself is a tour through much of the current literature and examples of economic inequality (pulled from the likes of luminaries such as Saez, Zucman, Pikkety, etc. as well as from a host of other researchers) with her own insight applied. The more interesting book will be in four years to hear what how this was put into real world solutions as part of the executive branch starting in 2021.
February 16, 2021
This books does a great job at summarizing the research agenda of some scholars and their political ivy implications.
I do not like how the book perpetuates the idea of a few “giants” moving the policy research frontier. Lots of emphasis in a few names, extreme repetition of credentials, and the ultimate insiders quote (“he told me over lunch”) leaves the impression that economics is a field where only 10-50 researchers and 2-5 universities matter. Moreover, the personal quotes leave the taste that you need to be on the right club to get the latest insights of these professed more scientific economic discipline.
I do not like how the book perpetuates the idea of a few “giants” moving the policy research frontier. Lots of emphasis in a few names, extreme repetition of credentials, and the ultimate insiders quote (“he told me over lunch”) leaves the impression that economics is a field where only 10-50 researchers and 2-5 universities matter. Moreover, the personal quotes leave the taste that you need to be on the right club to get the latest insights of these professed more scientific economic discipline.
November 15, 2019
An incredibly important book about how economists and policymakers are thinking about growth and inequality. Boushey surveys the cutting edge of economic literature about how inequality is obstructing and subverting economic growth across the board. Her message is loud and clear, we need to think about growth much more broadly than we currently think about it. Her final chapters on the need to grow the demand side of the ledger to combat inequality and the financialization of the economy are very timely and a must read for any serious policy professional.
December 28, 2019
Simply outstanding. Superbly readable and well structured presentation of a wealth of excellent research, demonstrating the negative impact of inequality on childhood development, limiting of skills, monopoly and political power, sustainable growth, and many others. However, especially interesting is the impact of the fine-grained data-driven empirical approach to economics. Gone (for good hopefully) are the simplistic models and concepts (such as the “representative agent”) which do not hold up under the tidal wave of differentiated analysis of highly disaggregated data. The research is entirely US based - but there is no reason to assume much is merely US-relevant. Anyone (everyone) interested in our current economic/political life should read this book.
June 28, 2022
Heather Boushey does an excellent job addressing large areas of inequality (stagnant middle class, inequitable access to early childhood education) and offers solutions on how to address them. In particular, I liked her suggestion towards the end of the book - she states that media outlets should focus on the 90% rather than the 10%, and show whether life was improving for them. Would recommend you read! I didn’t find it as daunting as many other economic based books can be.
April 30, 2020
This is a phenomenal work on the impacts of inequality on the economy. The author has cited latest empirical studies to highlight the 'paradigm shift' in economic theory. The language used is simple to understand and the numbers cited are mind boggling at times. There are many popular and note worthy books on the topic and this one is as good as any.
This is a more than 5 Star rating work.
This is a more than 5 Star rating work.
December 8, 2020
Fantastic overview of how inequality has severely affected our economy and how models used by current economist in positions of power are woefully outdated and severely damaging to hundreds of millions of americans well being.
Must read for all who wish to understand the pernicious nature of inequality and wilful neglect of our elite economist and policy makers.
Must read for all who wish to understand the pernicious nature of inequality and wilful neglect of our elite economist and policy makers.
December 15, 2020
All the concepts in here are sound, but I couldn't get past the first 1/3 of the book. By then it's clear that inequality is bad for a lot of reasons, both individual and on the broader economy, so the rest of the book felt kind of superflous to me. Good to put meat on the topic, but pretty typical dry nonfiction - best to get the idea and get out.
July 26, 2021
Excellent explanation of why economic inequality is killing our economy, how we can turn it around, and why economic crises will continue until we do. It makes clear that unregulated business, of all kinds, can not be trusted to do what is best for the economy as a whole. But since it reads more like a text book, I doubt many people will read it.
January 5, 2023
Libro muy interesante sobre desigualdad. A pesar de sus muchas referencias a autores, libros y datos, sus 200 páginas se leen muy bien. Lo he leído en un par de días. Me ha gustado cómo estructura los temas y sus argumentos y explicaciones, bien suyos o de otros autores. Nos deja numerosas referencias para seguir profundizando. Una temática que cada vez me interesa más.
June 23, 2022
Extremely strong review of the powers that shape the economy, what is wrong with the system, and what ways we might fix it. Its also realistic about those prospects. The ordering of the parts and chapters seemed a bit strange to me though.
March 14, 2020
amazing book. Very well put together and easy to understand. Fantastic points
March 15, 2020
A great review of the research on economic inequality, just a bit boring and not a lot of surprises.
April 11, 2020
Awesome book in part enlightening, as a the author makes a some points in a more convincing way than other books on the subject that I have read in the past
November 2, 2020
A good summary of the economics literature on inequality intended for a general audience, and for Democratic Party policy wonks.
April 12, 2022
literally every chapter in this book finds a way to dunk on Sam Brownback and it's great
December 29, 2020
One of the best books I've read this year.
January 19, 2021
An eye opening and easy to follow account of the inequality that permeates society - plenty of examples and stories to draw context from
September 1, 2022
A useful literature review that nonetheless reads like a literature review. Modern America-centricism makes sense given the source, but still makes it feel small in geographic and historical scope. Justification for econ's traditional neglect of inequality (basically that they just didn't have the data) feels like apologism for the biases of academic economics and still doesn't mention pioneering theoretical work by the likes of Tony Atkinson, Joan Robinson, and even Karl Marx.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews