The Baker Institute's Tax and Expenditure Policy Program recently hosted two renowned economists to discuss the underlying causes and consequences of income inequality, evaluate the empirical evidence of rising inequality, and examine potential solutions for dealing with these problems in the United States. Scroll down to watch the video of their discussion below.
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The policy debate on the sources, causes and potential solutions to rising income and wealth inequality has intensified in the past few years. Recently, French economist Thomas Piketty’s popular book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" garnered much attention and ignited further debate about these issues. Piketty argues that wealth will inevitably become more concentrated under capitalism because the returns to wealth are larger than economic growth rates. The solution he proposes is a coordinated global tax on wealth. The panelists at the Baker Institute event debated these and other related issues.
Welcome and Introduction
John W. Diamond, Ph.D.
Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance, Baker Institute
Panelists
R. Glenn Hubbard, Ph.D.
Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School
J. Bradford DeLong, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
Moderator
George R. Zodrow, Ph.D.
Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Chair of Economics; and
Baker Institute Rice Faculty Scholar
