Income Inequality in America: An Analysis of Trends: An Analysis of Trends

By Paul Ryscavage

Book Overview

What is income inequality? How is it measured? Is the middle class really declining? How does it relate to poverty? How long has inequality been rising in the US? Have there been other periods in history when income differences were as large as they are today? What are the causes of growing income and wage inequality? The author addresses these and other conceptual issues in eight carefully reasoned and clearly presented chapters. Concluding with an analysis and comparison of trends in wage inequality in other developed countries, he asks the final speculative question: How much more growth in inequality can our society withstand?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765602342
• ISBN13: 9780765602343
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Choice Magazine Review

Far exceeding the author's objective--to present a primer on the state and causes of income inequality in the US-this work by an eminent scholar addresses in masterful fashion the many factors related to these issues in a style comprehensible to both the public and experts. Ryscavage presents not only his own prestigious studies but also summarizes and aluates the major works of others. His study provides a strong bridge over the disconnect between economists' views and popular conceptions that ascribe income inequality to corporate greed, soaring profits, deregulation, waning power of unions, and the demise of the so-called social contract between workers and employers. Instead, the author examines relevant measures showing and causing income disparity. ... A must purchase for economic and public policy collections. All libraries. Choice