Inequality

Inequality endangers the fabric of our societies, distorts the functioning of democracy, and derails the globalization process. Yet, it has only recently been recognized as a problem worth examining. Why has this issue been neglected for so long?

In Inequality: A Short History, Michele Alacevich and Anna Soci discuss the emergence of the inequality question in the twentieth century and explain how it is related to current issues such as globalization and the survival of democracy. The authors also discuss trends and the future of inequality. Inequality is a pressing issue that not only affects living standards, but is also inextricably linked to the way our democracies work.

Praise for Inequality

Great, readable, and intellectually rich short history of inequality by Michele Alacevich and Anna Soci.
—Branko Milanovic, author of The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality

Michele Alacevich is associate professor of economic history at the University of Bologna. He is a former director of global studies at Loyola University Maryland and a research fellow at Harvard University, Columbia University, the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), and the World Bank.

Anna Soci is professor of economics at the University of Bologna. The author of scholarly articles, books, and textbooks in macroeconomics and international economics, she is a life-member of Clare Hall College, University of Cambridge, and was recently research fellow of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University, and Jemolo Fellow at the Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Her current research focuses on economics and politics.