Download or read book Inequality and Social Discounting written by Emmanuel Farhi and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We explore steady-state inequality in an intergenerational model with altruistically linked individuals who experience privately observed taste shocks. When the welfare function depends only on the initial generation, efficiency requires immiseration: inequality grows without bound and everyone's consumption converges to zero. We study other efficient allocations in which the welfare function values future generations directly, placing a positive but vanishing weight on their welfare. The social discount factor is then higher than the private one, and for any such difference we find that consumption exhibits mean reversion and that a steady-state, cross-sectional distribution for consumption and welfare exists, with no one trapped at misery.
Download or read book Inequality Social Discounting and Estate Taxation written by Emmanuel Farhi and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To what degree should societies allow inequality to be inherited? What role should estate taxation play in shaping the intergenerational transmission of welfare? We explore these questions by modeling altruistically-linked individuals who experience privately observed taste or productivity shocks. Our positive economy is identical to models with infinite-lived individuals where efficiency requires immiseration: inequality grows without bound and everyone's consumption converges to zero. However, under an intergenerational interpretation, previous work only characterizes a particular set of Pareto-efficient allocations: those that value only the initial generation's welfare. We study other efficient allocations where the social welfare criterion values future generations directly, placing a positive weight on their welfare so that the effective social discount rate is lower than the private one. For any such difference in social and private discounting we find that consumption exhibits mean-reversion and that a steady-state, cross-sectional distribution for consumption and welfare exists, where no one is trapped at misery. The optimal allocation can then be implemented by a combination of income and estate taxation. We find that the optimal estate tax is progressive: fortunate parents face higher average marginal tax rates on their bequests. Keywords: Inequality, Altruism, Private Information, Immiseration, Social Discounting, Optimal Taxation, Estate Taxes, Dynamic Programming. JEL Classifications: C61, C62, D30, D63, D64, D82, H21, H23, H24, H43.
Download or read book Justifying Social Discounting written by Stéphane Zuber and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discounted utilitarian criterion for infinite horizon social choice has been criticized for treating generations unequally. We propose an extended rank-discounted utilitarian (ERDU) criterion instead. The criterion amounts to discounted utilitarianism on non-decreasing streams, but it treats all generations impartially: discounting becomes the mere expression of intergenerational inequality aversion. We show that more inequality averse ERDU societies have higher social discount rates when future generations are better-off. We apply the ERDU approach in two benchmark economic growth models and prove that it promotes sustainable policies that maximize discounted utilitarian welfare.
Download or read book Meritocracy and Economic Inequality written by Kenneth Arrow and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most Americans strongly favor equality of opportunity if not outcome, but many are weary of poverty's seeming immunity to public policy. This helps to explain the recent attention paid to cultural and genetic explanations of persistent poverty, including claims that economic inequality is a function of intellectual ability, as well as more subtle depictions of the United States as a meritocracy where barriers to achievement are personal--either voluntary or inherited--rather than systemic. This volume of original essays by luminaries in the economic, social, and biological sciences, however, confirms mounting evidence that the connection between intelligence and inequality is surprisingly weak and demonstrates that targeted educational and economic reforms can reduce the income gap and improve the country's aggregate productivity and economic well-being. It also offers a novel agenda of equal access to valuable associations. Amartya Sen, John Roemer, Robert M. Hauser, Glenn Loury, Orley Ashenfelter, and others sift and analyze the latest arguments and quantitative findings on equality in order to explain how merit is and should be defined, how economic rewards are distributed, and how patterns of economic success persist across generations. Moving well beyond exploration, they draw specific conclusions that are bold yet empirically grounded, finding that schooling improves occupational success in ways unrelated to cognitive ability, that IQ is not a strong independent predictor of economic success, and that people's associations--their neighborhoods, working groups, and other social ties--significantly explain many of the poverty traps we observe. The optimistic message of this beautifully edited book is that important violations of equality of opportunity do exist but can be attenuated by policies that will serve the general economy. Policy makers will read with interest concrete suggestions for crafting economically beneficial anti-discrimination measures, enhancing educational and associational opportunity, and centering economic reforms in community-based institutions. Here is an example of some of our most brilliant social thinkers using the most advanced techniques that their disciplines have to offer to tackle an issue of great social importance.
Download or read book Injustice written by Daniel Dorling and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few would dispute that we live in an unequal and unjust world, but what causes this inequality to persist? In the new paperback edition of this timely book, Daniel Dorling, a leading social commentator and academic, claims that in rich countries lnequality is no longer caused by not having enough resources to share, but by unrecognised and unacknowledged beliefs which actually propagate it. Based on significant research across a range of fields, Dorling argues that, as the five social evils identified by Beveridge at the dawn of the British welfare state (ignorance, want, idleness, squalor and disease) are gradually being eradicated, they are being replaced by five new tenets of injustice, that: elitism is efficient; exclusion is necessary; prejudice is natural; greed is good and despair is inevitable. In an informal yet authoritative style, Dorling examines who is most harmed by these injustices and why, and what happens to those who most benefit. With a new Foreword by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, authors of The Spirit Level, and a new Afterword by the author examining developments during 2010, this is hard-hitting and uncompromising in its call to action and continues to make essential reading for everyone concerned with social justice. Book jacket.
Download or read book Siblings Not Triplets Social Preferences for Risk Inequality and Time in Discounting Climate Change written by Giles Atkinson and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Social Inequality written by Martin Marger and published by McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages. This book was released on 1999 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A textbook for an interdisciplinary undergraduate course that addresses what Marger (sociology, Michigan State U.) sees as a major deficiency that others either analyze only one form of social equality or analytically conflate them making it difficult to distinguish them. She engages class, racial a
Download or read book The Social Discount Rate written by Humberto Lopez and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The social discount rate measures the rate at which a society would be willing to trade present for future consumption. As such it is one of the most critical inputs needed for cost-benefit analysis. This paper presents estimates of the social discount rates for nine Latin American countries. It is argued that if the recent track record in terms of growth in the region is indicative of future performance, estimates of the social discount rate would be in the 3-4 percent range. However, to the extent that the region improves on its past performance, the social discount rate to be used in the evaluation of projects would increase to the 5-7 percent range. The paper also argues that if the social planner gives a similar chance to the low and high growth scenario, the discount rate should be dependent on the horizon of the project, declining from 4.4 percent for a 25-year horizon to less than 4 percent for a 100-year horizon.
Download or read book Pricing the Planet s Future written by Christian Gollier and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, the judge, the citizen, the politician, and the entrepreneur are concerned with the sustainability of our development.
Download or read book Handbook of Research on Social Inequality and Education written by Wisdom, Sherrie and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2019-06-28 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In comparing one public school to another, discussions frequently include talk concerning the socioeconomics of a school or district, which then leads to talk about the advantages that one socioeconomic setting has over another. Educators tend to agree that low academic achievement frequently associated with a low socioeconomic status is a characteristic difficult to resolve for a population of school children. The Handbook of Research on Social Inequality and Education is a critical reference source that provides insights into social influences on school and educational settings. Featuring an array of topics including online learning, social mobility, and teacher preparation, this book is excellent for educational leaders, educational researchers, teachers, academicians, administrators, instructional designers, and teacher preparation programs.
Download or read book Inequality Social Protection and Social Justice written by James Midgley and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2020-03-28 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thought-provoking book examines the role of social protection in reducing inequality and enhancing social justice. It assesses social protection’s impact on inequality in different parts of the world and shows that if carefully designed, adequately funded and effectively implemented, it can make a significant contribution to reducing income, gender and other forms of inequality. In this way, it can promote egalitarian ideals and enhance social justice.
Download or read book Social Inequality as a Global Challenge written by Medani P. Bhandari and published by River Publishers Chemical, Env. This book was released on 2021-05-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of edited papers gives an integrated understanding of the question of "why is society unequal"? This book is aimed at those stakeholders, who want to make or contribute to change and build an undivided, socially inclusive society, and to those who want to contribute to empowering society in the Twenty-First century.
Download or read book Valuing Climate Damages written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-06-23 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) is an economic metric intended to provide a comprehensive estimate of the net damages - that is, the monetized value of the net impacts, both negative and positive - from the global climate change that results from a small (1-metric ton) increase in carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions. Under Executive Orders regarding regulatory impact analysis and as required by a court ruling, the U.S. government has since 2008 used estimates of the SC-CO2 in federal rulemakings to value the costs and benefits associated with changes in CO2 emissions. In 2010, the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG) developed a methodology for estimating the SC-CO2 across a range of assumptions about future socioeconomic and physical earth systems. Valuing Climate Changes examines potential approaches, along with their relative merits and challenges, for a comprehensive update to the current methodology. This publication also recommends near- and longer-term research priorities to ensure that the SC- CO2 estimates reflect the best available science.
Download or read book Social Inequality written by Kathryn M. Neckerman and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2004-06-18 with total page 1052 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inequality in income, earnings, and wealth has risen dramatically in the United States over the past three decades. Most research into this issue has focused on the causes—global trade, new technology, and economic policy—rather than the consequences of inequality. In Social Inequality, a group of the nation's leading social scientists opens a wide-ranging inquiry into the social implications of rising economic inequality. Beginning with a critical evaluation of the existing research, they assess whether the recent run-up in economic inequality has been accompanied by rising inequality in social domains such as the quality of family and neighborhood life, equal access to education and health care, job satisfaction, and political participation. Marcia Meyers and colleagues find that many low-income mothers cannot afford market-based child care, which contributes to inequality both at the present time—by reducing maternal employment and family income—and through the long-term consequences of informal or low-quality care on children's educational achievement. At the other end of the educational spectrum, Thomas Kane links the growing inequality in college attendance to rising tuition and cuts in financial aid. Neil Fligstein and Taek-Jin Shin show how both job security and job satisfaction have decreased for low-wage workers compared with their higher-paid counterparts. Those who fall behind economically may also suffer diminished access to essential social resources like health care. John Mullahy, Stephanie Robert, and Barbara Wolfe discuss why higher inequality may lead to poorer health: wider inequality might mean increased stress-related ailments for the poor, and it might also be associated with public health care policies that favor the privileged. On the political front, Richard Freeman concludes that political participation has become more stratified as incomes have become more unequal. Workers at the bottom of the income scale may simply be too hard-pressed or too demoralized to care about political participation. Social Inequality concludes with a comprehensive section on the methodological problems involved in disentangling the effects of inequality from other economic factors, which will be of great benefit to future investigators. While today's widening inequality may be a temporary episode, the danger is that the current economic divisions may set in motion a self-perpetuating cycle of social disadvantage. The most comprehensive review of this quandary to date, Social Inequality maps out a new agenda for research on inequality in America with important implications for public policy.
Download or read book Regimes of Inequality written by Julia Lynch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-02 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why can't politicians seem to make policies that will reduce social inequality, even when they acknowledge that inequality is harmful?
Download or read book Multidimensional Inequalities written by Bent Greve and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2021-10-25 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multidimensional Inequalities is a deep dive into the historical contexts and contemporary realities that negatively influence society and its structures. It is often overlooked that inequality is not just about income and wealth but rather a broad spectrum of intersecting factors. This book focuses on each aspect individually, analysing its effect on welfare systems, and informs about the instruments available to reduce inequality.
Download or read book Discounting and Climate Policy written by Frederick van der Ploeg and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The social rate of discount is a crucial driver of the social cost of carbon (SCC), i.e. the expected present discounted value of marginal damages resulting from emitting one ton of carbon today. Policy makers should set carbon prices to the SCC using a carbon tax or a competitive permits market. The social discount rate is lower and the SCC higher if policy makers are more patient and if future generations are less affluent and policy makers care about intergenerational inequality. Uncertainty about the future rate of growth of the economy and emissions and the risk of macroeconomic disasters (tail risks) also depress the social discount rate and boost the SCC provided intergenerational inequality aversion is high. Various reasons (e.g. autocorrelation in the economic growth rate or the idea that a decreasing certainty-equivalent discount rate results from a discount rate with a distribution that is constant over time) are discussed for why the social discount rate is likely to decline over time. A declining social discount rate also emerges if account is taken from the relative price effects resulting from different growth rates for ecosystem services and of labour in efficiency units. The market-based asset pricing approach to carbon pricing is contrasted with a more ethical approach to policy making. Some suggestions for further research are offered.
