Mats Lundahl

Inequalities of opportunity affect a person’s life expectancy and access to basic services and human rights through discrimination, abuse, and lack of access to justice. High levels of inequality of opportunity discourage skill accumulation, choke economic and social mobility, and, consequently, depress economic growth. Inequality also entrenches uncertainty, vulnerability, and insecurity; undermines trust in institutions and government, increases social discord and tensions, and triggers violence and conflicts. This book presents wide-ranging perspectives on economic inequality, as measured by differences in incomes and wealth. The contributors to the book explore how the economy is shaped in such a way as to generate differences in economic and social welfare between individuals, regions, and nations. But the book is not limited to economic perspectives: inequality is a many-faceted phenomenon that manifests itself in a number of ways. Thus, the book begins with a section which highlights some of the ‘standard’ features of inequality: class, gender, and age. The second section explores the manifestation of inequality in terms of differences in income and wealth. The third section looks at some of the causes of inequality, exploring the effects of discrimination and plunder (by those in power). The final section serves to drive home the point that geographic and institutional factors have an important place as well when it comes to shedding light on what equality is, how it manifests itself, and what its consequences are. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the causes and consequences of economic inequality including those in economics, sociology, politics, and geography. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Mats Lundahl, Daniel Rauhut and Neelambar Hatti; individual chapters, the contributors.

Poverty in the History of Economic Thought: From Mercantilism to Neoclassical Economics aims to describe and critically examine how economic thought deals with poverty and the poor, including its causes, consequences, reduction, and abolition. This edited volume traces the economic ideas of key writers and schools of thought across a significant period, ranging from Adam Smith and Malthus through to Wicksell, Cassel, and Heckscher. The chapters relate poverty to income distribution, asserting that poverty is not always conceived of in absolute terms, and that relative and social deprivation matter also. Furthermore, the contributors deal with both individual poverty and the poverty of nations in the context of international economy. By providing such a thorough exploration, this book shows that the approach to poverty differs from economist to economist, depending on their particular interests and the main issues related to poverty in each epoch, as well as the influence of the intellectual climate that prevailed at the time when the contribution was made. This key text is valuable reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, economic development, and the economics of poverty.

Poverty in Contemporary Economic Thought aims to describe and critically examine how economic thought deals with poverty, including its causes, consequences, reduction and abolition. This edited volume traces the ideas of key writers and schools of modern economic thought across a significant period, ranging from Friedrich Hayek and Keynes to latter-day economists like Amartya Sen and Angus Deaton. The chapters relate poverty to income distribution, asserting the point that poverty is not always conceived of in absolute terms but that relative and social deprivation matters also. Furthermore, the contributors deal with both individual poverty and the poverty of nations in the context of the international economy. In providing such a thorough exploration, this book shows that the approach to poverty differs from economist to economist depending on their particular interests and the main issues related to poverty in each epoch, as well as the influence of the intellectual climate that prevailed at the time when the contribution was made. This key text is valuable reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, economic development and the economics of poverty. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Mats Lundahl, Daniel Rauhut, and Neelambar Hatti; individual chapters, the contributors.

Economists have moved in recent years beyond analyzing the manner in which the macroeconomies of different countries function and prescribing appropriate policies for dealing with domestic and external imbalances. Increasingly, they have sought to understand the complex interaction between political and economic phenomena. This book considers issues of economic reform in a broad range of settings:

* developed countries
* transition countries
* developing countries

Using country specific cases such as Uzbekistan, Burma and Haiti, it focuses on those territories which have encountered problems reforming, allowing the reader to gain an accurate understanding of the factors that inhibit the success of economic reform, the different context in which economic reform is attempted, and the different challenges that individual countries face.

An international team of contributors including Bo Södersten, Deepak Lal and Ron Findlay have been brought together to analyze these topical issues, making this an informative and thought-provoking book, of interest to those involved in the field of development studies.