Economic Inequality - What It Is and Why We Should Care, with Jesper Roine

Recent debates and research on economic inequality give conflicting results and views on the developments (even when using similar data). This project argues that much of the disagreement reflects differences in the underlying concepts of income and wealth rather than purely empirical disputes. Building on the Haig–Simons definition of income as changes in consumption possibilities, the paper proposes a framework that traces how macroeconomic resources recorded in national accounts reach households through institutions such as firms, pension systems, and government programs. Different inequality measures capture different points along this transmission chain, which helps explain why studies often reach different conclusions about inequality trends and gives some examples based on Swedish developments.Research seminar with Jesper Roine, Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and deputy director at Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE). He holds a Ph. D. from Stockholm University (2002).