Why Economic Inequality Should be Central to Strategies for the Future

Bibliographic Data

ID19003510
AuthorsI Robeyns (0000-0002-2893-1814, Utrecht University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume26
Issue2
Pages161-176
Publication date2025-03-18
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-9888 • E-ISSN: 1469-9516
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19452829.2025.2479028
OpenAlexW4408541537
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited22

In this article, I develop and defend the claim that we, humanity, will not be able to get significantly closer to a world in which there is ecologically sustainable human development if we do not tackle economic inequalities head-on. This implies that we should focus not only on poverty but also on the entire distribution of income and wealth, including extreme wealth concentration. For national and international policymaking, this means that reducing economic inequality must be one of the central priorities rather than assuming that it is indirectly covered by other social goals such as poverty reduction or formal equality of opportunities, or assuming that it is a problem that will solve itself over time under globalised neoliberal capitalism

Development economics · Economic inequality · Economics · Inequality · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Care Issues · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Mathematics

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Open DOIOpen Access