In the last few decades, the concentration of income and wealth in the United States, and in most advanced countries, has been on the rise.
Although some degree of inequality could promote growth by strengthening incentives to work and invest, recent research suggests that inequality is associated with lower growth in the medium run. Long periods of rising inequality may also incite political instability and may lead to protectionist pressures, limiting the ability of economies to benefit from globalization. Furthermore, income inequality may limit opportunities for the poor to invest in education and entrepreneurial activity. In such circumstances, society faces difficult questions of how best to fairly and justly promote equal opportunity.
Research about the causes and implications of inequality is ongoing, and this workshop aims at both providing some answers and promote further efforts. Understanding the roots of inequality is an important issue, and the first step to designing measures aimed at promoting equality of opportunity.