It was part of common wisdom that in the early stages of development inequality would rise, but it would, eventually, decline. As time passed and growth persisted, inequality has, however, continued to grow, casting doubt on the received wisdom.

Introduction: Inequality and Growth: A Preamble; Kaushik Basu, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Vivian Hon 1. The Inheritance of Employers and Nonlinearities in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility; Miles Corak and Patrizio PirainoTowards Understanding Intergenerational Persistence, Slowly: Comments on 'The Inheritance of Employers and Nonlinearities in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility'; Francisco Ferreira2. Do Nations Just Get the Inequality They Deserve? The 'Palma Ratio' Reexamined; José Gabriel Palma Measuring Income Inequality: Comments on 'Do Nations Just Get the Inequality They Deserve? The 'Palma Ratio' Reexamined'; Joseph E. Stiglitz3. The University of Texas Inequality Project (UTIP) Global Inequality Data Sets 1963-2008: Updates, Revisions and Quality Checks; James K. Galbraith, Beatrice Halbach, Aleksandra Malinowska, Amin Shams and Wenjie ZhangMeasuring Global Inequality: Comments on 'The University of Texas Inequality Project (UTIP) Global Inequality Data Sets 1963-2008'; Edward N. Wolff4. Inequality and the Fragility of Growth; Jonathan D. OstryComments on 'Redistribution, Inequality and Growth'; Francois Bourguignon5. Does Wealth Distribution and the Source of Wealth Matter for Economic Growth? Inherited v. Uninherited Billionaire Wealth and Billionaires Political Connections; Sutirtha Bagchi and Jan SvejnarA Sociological Perspective on Wealth Inequality and Opportunity: Comments on 'Does Wealth Distribution and the Source of Wealth Matter for Economic Growth? Inherited v. Uninherited Billionaire Wealth and Billionaires Political Connections'; Kendra Bischoff6. Inequality in Arab Countries; Radwan A. Shaban Resolving the Arab-Spring Paradox: Comments on 'Inequality in Arab Countries'; Shantayanan Devarajan 7. Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America; Nora Lustig, Luis F. Lopez-Calva and Eduardo Ortiz JuarezA Macroeconomic Accounting Note to Pope Francis: Comments on 'Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America'; Celestin Monga 8. Caste Discrimination in Contemporary India; Ashwini DeshpandeReflections on Caste and Integrroup Disparity: Comments on 'Caste Discrimination in Contemporary India'; William A. Darity, Jr.

It was a part of the wisdom of mainstream economics that in the early stages of development inequality would rise but, as growth persisted, it would, eventually, decline. Early evidence seemed to suggest that this pattern would be borne out. But, as time passed and growth persisted, inequality continued to grow, casting doubt on the received wisdom. The aim of this two-volume book is to analyze the current state of global and regional inequality, dissect the phenomenal increase in inequality that we have seen occur in recent times, and better understand the complex relationship between inequality and development. The political instability and conflict that we see around the world, arguably, has connection to economic deprivation of large segments of society and the perception of marginalization. This two-volume work acquires a special significance in the light of these developments.

“This valuable and timely collection results from an International Economics Association gathering in Dead Sea, Jordan … . this is a valuable collection not only for development economists but for all those interested in the classical issues of political economy.” (Valpy FitzGerald, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 56 (2), June, 2018)

Joseph Stiglitz is an extremely highprofile and wellregarded economist who won the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 2001. Kaushik Basu is also a very wellknown and respected economist who currently holds the position of Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank. Numerous influential economists and policymakers contribute to this volume, providing a thorough and comprehensive insight into the links between economic development and inequality.