Understanding the Forces Behind Global Inequality
Global inequality has reached levels not seen since the Gilded Age. Understanding the forces driving this divergence — technological change, globalization, financialization, and the erosion of labor power — is essential for designing effective responses.
Wealth inequality in the United States has returned to levels not seen since the 1920s. The top 1% now owns more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. Understanding how this happened — and what it means for democracy, opportunity, and social cohesion — is one of the most important challenges of our time.
Economists have long argued that putting a price on carbon emissions is the most efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon pricing creates incentives for businesses and consumers to reduce emissions without mandating specific technologies. Yet carbon pricing has been politically difficult to implement, and where it has been implemented, the prices are often too low to drive the necessary reductions.
Housing affordability has reached crisis levels in cities across the world. In San Francisco, New York, London, and Sydney, median home prices are 10-20 times median incomes. The causes are complex — a combination of zoning restrictions, underinvestment in social housing, and financialization of the housing market — but the consequences are clear: a generation locked out of homeownership and communities torn apart by displacement.
After decades of low inflation, the global economy experienced a surge in inflation in 2021-2022 that caught central banks off guard. The episode revealed the limits of central bank models and the complexity of inflation dynamics. Understanding what happened — and what it means for monetary policy — is one of the most important questions in contemporary economics.
For 70 years, economic growth has been the central goal of economic policy. But a growing movement of economists and activists argues that on a finite planet, infinite growth is impossible — and that the pursuit of growth is driving ecological collapse. The "degrowth" movement proposes a fundamental rethinking of economic goals and values.
The invention of Bitcoin in 2009 launched a revolution in money and finance. Cryptocurrencies, DeFi, NFTs, and central bank digital currencies are challenging the foundations of the financial system. But the promise of democratizing finance has been complicated by speculation, fraud, and the concentration of wealth in new forms.
Universal Basic Income — giving every citizen an unconditional cash payment — has been debated for decades. Now a wave of real-world experiments, from Finland to Kenya to Stockton, California, is providing evidence about its effects. The results challenge both the optimistic and pessimistic predictions.
For four decades, China's economy grew at an average rate of nearly 10% per year — the fastest sustained growth of any major economy in history. Now growth is slowing, debt is rising, and the property sector is in crisis. Understanding China's economic transition is essential for understanding the global economy.
Degrowth — the idea that wealthy economies should deliberately reduce their economic output to achieve environmental sustainability and social wellbeing — is gaining traction among economists and policymakers. But can an economy shrink without causing mass unemployment and social collapse? And is degrowth compatible with human flourishing?
More than 100 countries are exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) — digital versions of national currencies issued by central banks. CBDCs could transform the financial system, making payments faster and cheaper, expanding financial inclusion, and giving central banks new tools for monetary policy. But they also raise serious concerns about privacy and financial surveillance.
Housing has become unaffordable in cities around the world. In San Francisco, London, Sydney, and many other cities, the median home price is more than ten times the median household income. The housing crisis is not a mystery — economists understand its causes. The challenge is the political economy of reform.
After decades of low inflation, the global economy experienced a sharp surge in prices in 2021-2023. The inflation was driven by a combination of supply chain disruptions, energy price shocks, and fiscal stimulus. Central banks responded with the fastest interest rate increases in decades. The episode has prompted a fundamental rethinking of monetary policy.
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