On the 'Arab Inequality Puzzle

A Comment

Bibliographic Data

ID3883900
AuthorsVladimir Hlasny (0000-0002-6029-1634), Paolo Verme (0000-0002-8754-1138)
Year2022
Volume53
Issue2
Pages448-458
Publication date2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopment and Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-155X • E-ISSN: 1467-7660
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/dech.12626
OpenAlexW3118846651
LanguageEN
References cited20

This Comment responds to the critical review by Gilbert Achcar published in this journal (May 2020) which concludes that the protagonists of the 'Arab Inequality Puzzle' debate exhibit a systematic neoliberal bias. We counter that Achcar's conclusion is based on a misleading and selective interpretation of evidence, false grouping of scholars and an inadequate understanding of the measurement of income inequality. Achcar's article politicizes and dismisses years of thorough research which is unfair to the numerous scholars who made a genuine effort to understand the true level of income inequality and its evolution in Egypt. This Comment argues that it is essential to keep the debate on a technical level and leave speculations and conspiracy theories aside

Aside · Development economics · Economic inequality · Economics · Epistemology · Inequality · Interpretation (philosophy) · Law and economics · Neoclassical economics · Political science · Positive economics · Sociology · Economic Theory and Policy · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Philosophy

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