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Inequality: Causes and ConsequencesIn good times and recessions alike, economic inequality in the United States has increased over the last three decades. The social and political significance of this widening gap between those at the top of the income gradient and the majority at lower income levels is still unclear. The public uncertainty over the importance of economic inequality in the contemporary United States is matched by wide divisions of opinion in the academic and policy communities. Eric Wanner, President of the Russell Sage Foundation, which is supporting a major series of studies of inequality, succinctly captures questions of cause and consequence that remain unanswered: Beginning late in the 1970s, the United States experienced a series of economic shocks and demographic changes that caused economic inequality to rise sharply. . . .Although [the] facts are well known, we still understand very little of their larger social significance. Is the recent burst of economic inequality nothing but a temporary consequence of the transition to a new and more productive economy? Can Americans respond to the increasing economic importance of education by going to college in greater numbers and insulating themselves from computerization and global competition? Or will inequality, once under way, prove difficult to reverse? This might happen if the families who have fallen behind economically also fall behind in other ways that will make it more difficult for them, and for their children, to compete with the more advantaged. --From the Foreword to Social Inequality, ed. Kathryn M. Neckerman (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2004). Because poverty and inequality are so intimately linked, IRP research has maintained a consistent focus on inequality issues. During this academic year, the Institute is presenting a series of seminars on the causes and consequences of inequality, by nationally distinguished scholars. In April 2005, IRP will also hold a national conference, "Making the Politics of Poverty and Inequality: How Public Policies Are Reshaping American Democracy." Versions of the seminar and conference presentations will appear in issues of the IRP newsletter, Focus. A Seminar Series on the Causes and Consequences of InequalityOctober 14, 2004: What Does Increased Economic Inequality Imply about the
Future Level and Dispersion of Human Capital? November 5, 2004: Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policies? November 11, 2004: Distribution of Ability and of Earnings in a Hierarchical
Job Assignment Model November 18, 2004: The Risk Factor: The Growing Economic Insecurity of American
Families March 10, 2005: Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination in Employment: Evidence
from Census 2000 April 14, 2005: Social Inequality An IRP ConferenceMaking the Politics of Poverty and Inequality: How Public Policies Are Reshaping American Democracy This invitation-only conference will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21-22, 2005. Over the past few decades, federal and state policy initiatives have reshaped the political landscape in ways that have profound implications both for American democracy and for the economic welfare of Americans. The goal of this conference is to explore not only how political forces shape public policies, but more centrally how public policies function as political forces in their own right. Leading scholars from political science, sociology, economics, and social work will examine how public policies set new political dynamics in motion, affect the course of political agendas, and promote or hinder efforts to address poverty and inequality. The conference participants will offer insights into how current policy choices might shape what is possible and likely in the coming decades of poverty and inequality politics. This IRP conference will be organized by Joe Soss, Jacob Hacker, and Suzanne Mettler; it will be cosponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation. Conference panels: A preliminary list
These panels will be followed by a public session in which discussants will present key conference themes and lessons for policymakers, administrators, analysts, and other invited guests. IRP articles on inequality: Some background reading"Inequality and poverty in the United States: The twentieth-century record," by Robert D. Plotnick, Eugene Smolensky, Eirik Evenhouse, and Siobhan Reilly, Focus Vol. 19, no. 3 (1998) (for the full analysis, see DP1166-98) "Cross-national income inequality: How great is it and what can we learn from it?" by Timothy M. Smeeding and Peter Gottschalk, Focus Vol. 19, no. 3 (1998). "Family income mobility: How much is there and has it changed?" by Peter Gottschalk and Sheldon Danziger, Focus Vol. 19, no. 3 (1998). "Incarceration, unemployment, and inequality," by Bruce Western. Focus Vol. 21, no. 3 (2001) "Health inequality between black and white women," by Yu-Whuei Hu and Barbara Wolfe. (DP 1251-02) See, for example, this selection of headlines from major newspapers over the last two years: "U.S. income gap widening, study says." New York Times, Sep 25, 2003 "Income gap up over two decades, data show." Chicago Tribune, Aug 7, 2004 "As income gap widens, uncertainty spreads." Washington Post, Sep 20, 2004 "Blacks still suffer financial inequality." Palm Beach Post, Aug 24, 2003 "Blacks' income gap among lowest in U.S." Washington Times, Nov 25, 2003 "Latinos see incomes rise among middle class." Detroit News, Oct 21, 2002 "Salaries of rich have no bearing on poverty." Philadelphia Inquirer, June 19, 2003 "American equality? That's rich." New York Daily News, May 16, 2004 "Income inequality is raging, but the poor aren't." San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 1 2002 Return to top of page |
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Questions and comments email irpweb@ssc.wisc.edu Posted: 6 December, 2004 Last Updated: 20 April, 2005 |