Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T19:22:39.322Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comment by Robert Blecker

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2010

Dean Baker
Affiliation:
Economic Policy Institute, Washington DC
Gerald Epstein
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Robert Pollin
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Get access

Summary

In his chapter, Andrew Glyn analyzes whether internal or external constraints have been more important in blocking the adoption of more egalitarian economic policies, especially in the European context. Glyn acknowledges that both internal and external constraints exist, and he also accepts that internal and external constraints sometimes interact with each other. But on the whole, Glyn concludes that “internal domestic problems…remain the fundamental ones.”

A first point to note is that the “egalitarian policies” discussed in this chapter are somewhat limited in scope. The main focus of the chapter is on the use of expansionary fiscal policies to promote full employment. Even monetary policy is discussed only tangentially, insofar as it impacts on the effectiveness of fiscal expansion. Complementary micro-level policies to enhance equity are not discussed.

Glyn makes a convincing case that boosting aggregate demand would have a positive impact on job creation for “less-qualified” or lower-paid workers. He does not say whether he thinks higher employment would help to significantly narrow the growing inequality in the distribution of income currently observed in Europe and the United States alike. In the U.S. context, at least, the evidence seems to be that the macroeconomic recovery and close-to-full employment conditions of the mid-to late 1990s have not done much to narrow the growing income gaps that arose in the 1980s. Thus, it appears that expanding aggregate demand and creating full employment are necessary but not sufficient steps for achieving more egalitarian outcomes in the face of structural changes that are making societies more unequal.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×