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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Overview

Recommendation

Many contend that financial inequality contributes to slower GDP growth and reduced economic vigor. Count business journalist Binyamin Appelbaum in this camp. Appelbaum ably dissects the issues of income and wealth inequality in this incisive critique of the current state of economic thinking, honing in on how economists guide policy prescriptions. Business leaders and policy analysts will find this a thoughtful reflection on the distributional elements of economic dynamism.

Take-Aways

  • Economists are increasingly questioning the use of economic efficiency as the main criterion in macroeconomic policy.
  • A new breed of economists favors a “normative” approach to distribution policy.
  • The economics profession needs to engage in clarifying wealth distribution issues.

About the Author

Binyamin Appelbaum, the author of The Economists’ Hour, writes about business and economics for The New York Times.