Saturday, October 13, 2012

Stiglitz on growing inequality and its consequences

A great talk by Joseph Stiglitz (@Google) about his new book The Price of Inequality. He points out the useless nature of marginal productivity theory in determining the huge rewards enjoyed by some, how there is no correspondence between 'contribution to society' and the large fortunes at the top, which, he contends, also have a good deal to do with plundering those lower down on the food chain. (OK, he phrases it more diplomatically, calling it 'rent seeking'.)

Stiglitz@Google, 2012

Compared to the wealth of information like this that is available to today's undergraduate economics students, I feel like I was living in the stone age when I was a student in the 1970s. I hope their instructors are helping them to find such gems. Perhaps it's one of the best contributions we can make to their education.

RH
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1 comment:

  1. The entire financial system has gotten way too big and bloated around the world. It has ended up being based on increasingly exotic products rather then adding any real economic value to the real economy.

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