Wage Policy Income Distribution And Democratic Theory

Wage policy can be broadly defined as a set of institutions designed to bolster the wages of workers, especially for those workers who lack negotiating power. This book concentrates on the relationship between wage policy and the distribution of income and the maintenance of a sustainable democracy. Whereas economists have looked at this issue in relation to labour markets, this book aims to reset the balance by focusing on issues such as equality and democratic theory. This book makes an important contribution to the literature of public policy, political philosophy and political economy. Levin-Waldman argues that wage policy is an important component in the maintenance of democratic society and that a reduction in income inequality can have a positive effect both on personal autonomy and empowerment.

Whilst there is widespread agreement about the goals of economic policy, consensus about how best to achieve them can be harder to achieve. No issues are more contentious than employment and income distribution. In recent years full employment and a just distribution of incomes have been downgraded as policy objectives, as greater priority has been given to price stability and balance of payments objectives. This emphasis has been supported by a mainstream economic theory which has an unswerving belief in the ability of market forces to achieve a satisfactory regulation of employment and income distribution Other economists have remained more sceptical, and none more so than Kurt Rothschild. This new volume collects together his twenty two most important essays in the area, many of which are appearing in English for the first time. Throughout pure theory is linked to relevant practical investigations.

This is a well-grounded restatement, defense, and development of the theory of income distribution in both its micro- and macroeconomic aspects. The author, an authority in the field who has spent many years developing the ideas in this book, balances neoclassical theories with Keynesian and ""radical"" approaches. He considers income distribution theory in terms of ideology, statistics, micro- and macroeconomics, income policies, and the poverty problem. The result is a distinctive and comprehensive treatment of a subject that has polarized many economists over many decades. Bronfenbrenner reacts against conventional theories that concentrate on output markets, virtually ignoring input prices. He also opposes the brand of institutionalism that regards ""democratic business unionism"" as an American institution that can do no wrong. Overall, Bronfenbrenner presents an eclectic defense of a ""traditional"" theory of economics that has been under attack from rival viewpoints with insufficient rebuttal, and that proves to be a powerful tool of analysis in dealing with this subject. The book is organized into three main parts: an ideological and statistical personal introduction to income distribution, microeconomic distribution theory, and macroeconomic distribution theory. A final chapter considers incomes policies, with a rather skeptical view of the prospects for political control of income distribution within a basically free economy. The manuscript has been widely used and class tested over the past thirty-five years. The book will be useful to professional economists. It may be used as a basic text in courses on income distribution and as a supplementary text in microeconomic theory.

This is a well-grounded restatement, defense, and development of the theory of income distribution in both its micro- and macroeconomic aspects. The author, an authority in the field who has spent many years developing the ideas in this book, balances neoclassical theories with Keynesian and "radical" approaches. He considers income distribution theory in terms of ideology, statistics, micro- and macroeconomics, income policies, and the poverty problem. The result is a distinctive and comprehensive treatment of a subject that has polarized many economists over many decades. Bronfenbrenner reacts against conventional theories that concentrate on output markets, virtually ignoring input prices. He also opposes the brand of institutionalism that regards "democratic business unionism" as an American institution that can do no wrong. Overall, Bronfenbrenner presents an eclectic defense of a "traditional" theory of economics that has been under attack from rival viewpoints with insufficient rebuttal, and that proves to be a powerful tool of analysis in dealing with this subject. The book is organized into three main parts: an ideological and statistical personal introduction to income distribution, microeconomic distribution theory, and macroeconomic distribution theory. A final chapter considers incomes policies, with a rather skeptical view of the prospects for political control of income distribution within a basically free economy. The manuscript has been widely used and class tested over the past thirty-five years. The book will be useful to professional economists. It may be used as a basic text in courses on income distribution and as a supplementary text in microeconomic theory.

This book delivers a fresh and fascinating perspective on the issue of the minimum wage. While most discussions of the minimum wage place it at the center of a debate between those who oppose such a policy and argue it leads to greater unemployment, and those who favor it and argue it improves the economic well-being of low-income workers, Levin-Waldman makes the case for the minimum wage as a way to improve the well-being of middle-income workers, strengthen the US economy, reduce income inequality, and enhance democracy. Making a timely and original contribution to the defining issues of our time—the state of the middle class, the problem of inequality, and the crisis of democratic governance—Restoring the Middle Class through Wage Policy will be of interest to students and researchers considering the impact of such approaches across the fields of public policy, economics, and political science.

Oren M. Levin-Waldman studies the role that living wage campaigns may have had in recent years in altering the political landscape in four cities where they have been adopted: Los Angeles, Detroit, Baltimore, and New Orleans.

Although inequality in Latin America ranks among the worst in the world, it has notably declined over the last decade, offset by improvements in health care and education, enhanced programs for social assistance, and increases in the minimum wage. In Democracy and the Left, Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens argue that the resurgence of democracy in Latin America is key to this change. In addition to directly affecting public policy, democratic institutions enable left-leaning political parties to emerge, significantly influencing the allocation of social spending on poverty and inequality. But while democracy is an important determinant of redistributive change, it is by no means the only factor. Drawing on a wealth of data, Huber and Stephens present quantitative analyses of eighteen countries and comparative historical analyses of the five most advanced social policy regimes in Latin America, showing how international power structures have influenced the direction of their social policy. They augment these analyses by comparing them to the development of social policy in democratic Portugal and Spain. The most ambitious examination of the development of social policy in Latin America to date, Democracy and the Left shows that inequality is far from intractable—a finding with crucial policy implications worldwide.

This book delivers a fresh and fascinating perspective on the issue of the minimum wage. While most discussions of the minimum wage place it at the center of a debate between those who oppose such a policy and argue it leads to greater unemployment, and those who favor it and argue it improves the economic well-being of low-income workers, Levin-Waldman makes the case for the minimum wage as a way to improve the well-being of middle-income workers, strengthen the US economy, reduce income inequality, and enhance democracy. Making a timely and original contribution to the defining issues of our time—the state of the middle class, the problem of inequality, and the crisis of democratic governance—Restoring the Middle Class through Wage Policy will be of interest to students and researchers considering the impact of such approaches across the fields of public policy, economics, and political science.