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Inequality Is Bad For the Economy

Posted By Washingtons Blog On February 23, 2013 @ 7:45 pm In Markets | Comments Disabled

Who’s Who of Prominent Economists Say that Too Much Inequality Causes Economic Downturns

A who’s-who’s of prominent economists in government and academia [1] have all said that runaway inequality can cause financial crises:

Indeed, extreme inequality helped cause the Great Depression, the current financial crisis [12] … and the fall of the Roman Empire [13].

It’s not just liberal economists who say this … many conservatives say the same thing [14].

 

 

Article printed from The Big Picture: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog

URL to article: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2013/02/inequality-is-bad-for-the-economy/

URLs in this post:

[1] academia: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/07/the-economy-cannot-recover-as-long-as-inequality-continues-to-skyrocket-but-government-policy-is-increasing-inequality.html#

[2] Robert Shiller: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/01/robert-shiller-argues-that-rising.html

[3] Joseph Stiglitz: http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105

[4] Andrew Berg: http://www.bnet.com/blog/management/why-goldman-sachs-big-bonuses-may-bad-for-the-economy/4337

[5] Paul Krugman: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/06/does_income_inequality_cause_f.html

[6] Robert Reich: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/12/extreme-inequality-helped-cause-both.html

[7] John Kenneth Galbraith: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/02/john-kenneth-galbraith-explained-that.html

[8] David Moss: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/weekinreview/22story.html?_r=1

[9] Michael Kumhof: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/02/guest-post-leverage-inequality-and-crises.html

[10] Robert Wade: http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2010/07/income-inequality-international-payments-imbalances-and-crises.html

[11] David Ruccio: http://rwer.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/inequality-and-capitalist-crises-2-graphs/

[12] the Great Depression, the current financial crisis: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/12/extreme-inequality-helped-cause-both-the-great-depression-and-the-current-economic-crisis.html

[13] fall of the Roman Empire: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/12/inequality-was-one-of-the-main-reasons-for-the-fall-of-ancient-rome-and-inequality-in-america-much-worse-than-it-was-in-rome.html

[14] say the same thing: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/09/conservatives-worry-that-runaway-inequality-will-destroy-economy-and-society.html

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