HKS Affiliated Authors
Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, FAS
Excerpt
Excerpt
Does Economic Inequality Cause Crises? Edward Glaeser, December 14, 2010, Paper. "Did inequality cause the recent housing and financial crisis? For decades, a growing literature has tried to establish links between inequality and adverse outcomes, such as low economic growth,weak social cohesion and mortality and, most recently, financial crises. If true, these arguments would provide even more reasons to worry about our unequal income distribution. If false, we should still worry about income inequality, because in a just society everyone should have a decent standard of living and the opportunity to succeed. Empirically, it is true..." Link