5 Big Ideas in Inequality - VII

THIS WEEK: INEQUALITY  |  DEC 07 2020


03:12 | Idea 1 - Charlotte Cavaillé
13:10 | Idea 2 - Mesmin Destin
24:20 | Idea 3 - Gordon Hanson
32:44 | Idea 4 - Karen Dynan
43:28 | Q&A

 

Highlights

 

Charlotte CavailléIDEA 1

How to understand the relationship between inequality and policy preferences and voting behavior


Charlotte Cavaillé
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy 
University of Michigan

Charlotte Cavaillé slides

For further reading

Fair Enough? Support for Redistribution in the Age of Inequality 
By Charlotte Cavaillé (book project)

The public’s reaction to rising inequality in countries like the U.S. or Great Britain has perplexed many. Commentators find it surprisingly muted and ponder why support for redistributive policies has not increased. Following President Trump’s election and Brexit, other pundits worry that the public’s reaction is forceful, but misguided. According to this account, immigrants and racial minorities have become easy scapegoats for voters left behind by globalization and technological change. Fair Enough? seeks to advance our understanding of the public’s multifaceted response to rising inequality. 

 

Mesmin DestinIDEA 2

Elevating the Objectives of Higher Education to Effectively Serve Students from Diverse Socioeconomic Backgrounds


Mesmin Destin
Associate Professor of Psychology
Associate Professor of Human Development and Social Policy
Northwestern University

Mesmin Destin slides

For further reading

Destin, M., Rosario, R. J., & Vossoughi, S. (in press). "Elevating the objectives of higher education to effectively serve students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds." Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Hernandez, I. A., Silverman, D. M., & Destin M. (in press). From deficit to benefit: Highlighting lower-SES students’ background-specific strengths increases their academic persistence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

 

Gordon HansonIDEA 3

A rapid response force to address regional job loss 


Gordon Hanson
Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy
Harvard Kennedy School

 

Gordon Hanson slides

"How do we help regions that have been hard hit by economic shocks not become one of these places that's left behind?

How [do we] prevent short-run joblessness from becoming permanent joblessness?"

 

 

 

Karen DynanIDEA 4

To reduce inequality, run a hot economy


Karen Dynan
Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy
Department of Economics 
and Harvard Kennedy School
Harvard University

Karen Dynan slides

"Inequality tends to be studied mostly by microeconomist because these structural trends over the decades have been so important, and they have come from microeconomic forces.

But the point I want to make is that there are also huge inequalities and disparities that arise because of cyclical fluctuations in the economy. And we shouldn't forget that we have some really important tools to be able to mitigate those cyclical dynamics."

"I think too often we just think about, well, that's how we're going to manage top-line GDP growth.

But we have to remember that recessions have enormous human costs. So our levers to mitigate them or to avoid them in the first place are just super important to get right if you care about income inequality."