The Economics of Inequality (Hardcover)

Note to the Reader
Introduction
1. The Measurement of Inequality and Its Evolution
Different Types of Income
Wage Inequality
International Comparisons

Income Inequality
International Comparisons

Inequalities in Time and Space
The Historical Evolution of Inequality
From Laws of History to Uncertainties
From Wages to Incomes
Inequality with Respect to Employment


2. Capital-Labor Inequality
The Share of Capital in Total Income
The Question of Capital/Labor Substitution
What Capital/Labor Substitution Means
Redistribution: “Fiscal” or “Direct”?
The Elasticity of Substitution between Capital and Labor
The Elasticity of Capital Supply
Are Capitalists and the Price System Necessary?

A Compromise between Short-Term and Long-Term Theories?
From Share of Value-Added to Household Income
What the Constancy of the Profit Share Tells Us
Who Pays Social Charges (Payroll Taxes)?
A Cobb-Douglas Production Function?
Historical Time versus Political Time?
Why Has the Profit Share Not Increased in the United States and United Kingdom?


The Dynamics of the Distribution of Capital
The Theory of Perfect Credit and Convergence
The Question of Convergence between Rich and Poor Countries

The Problem of Capital Market Imperfections
Possible Public Interventions
A Flat Tax on Capital?



3. Inequality of Labor Income
Inequality of Wages and Human Capital
The Explanatory Power of the Theory of Human Capital
Important Historical Inequalities
Supply and Demand
The Rise of Wage Inequality since 1970
Skill-Biased Technological Change?
Wage Inequality and Globalization

How to Redistribute Labor Income
A Major Political Issue

Where Does Human Capital Inequality Come From?
Efficient Inequality?
The Role of the Family and Educational Expenses
The Problem of Inefficient Segregation of Human Capital
Discrimination in the Labor Market
Affirmative Action versus Fiscal Transfers


The Social Determination of Wage Inequality
The Role of Unions in Setting Wages
Unions as Substitutes for Fiscal Redistribution?
Do Unions Contribute to Economic Efficiency?

The Monopsony Power of Employers
When Does a Higher Minimum Wage Increase the Level of Employment?

Efficiency Wages and Fair Wages
National Traditions and Wage Inequality



4. Instruments of Redistribution
Pure Redistribution
Average and Marginal Rates of Redistribution
The Absence of Redistribution between Workers
The U-Shaped Curve of Marginal Rates

Just Fiscal Redistribution
Do High Taxes Diminish Revenue?
The Earned Income Tax Credit in the United States
Fiscal Redistribution to Reduce Unemployment?
Negative Income Tax and Basic Income


Efficient Redistribution
Redistribution and Social Insurance
Efficient Social Insurance
Is Social Insurance an Instrument of Fiscal Redistribution?

Redistribution and Demand


References
Contents in Detail
Index