This state-of-the-art volume presents comparative, empirical research on a topic that has long preoccupied scholars, politicians, and everyday citizens: economic inequality. While income and wealth inequality across all populations is the primary focus, the contributions to this book pay special attention to the middle class, a segment often not addressed in inequality literature. Written by leading scholars in the field of economic inequality, all 17 chapters draw on microdata from the databases of LIS, an esteemed cross-national data center based in Luxembourg. Using LIS data to structure a comparative approach, the contributors paint a complex portrait of inequality across affluent countries at the beginning of the 21st century. The volume also trail-blazes new research into inequality in countries newly entering the LIS databases, including Japan, Iceland, India, and South Africa.
"Janet C. Gornick and Markus Jäntti's Income Equality is one fruit of this massive research effort. The book consists of studies of contemporary inequality trends using the [Luxembourg Income Study] data woven into a rich tapestry of understanding of a complex historical episode. The contributors-economists, sociologists, political scientists-analyze the data using powerful methodologies capable o
American Journal of Sociology
"A timely, informative volume for students and researchers concerned with income inequality . . . Recommended."
Choice
"This is one of the most important books on inequality published in the past decade. Focusing on what has happened to the middle class since the 1980s, during a period of substantial economic and political restructuring, this volume's remarkable insights and influence will span disciplines."
