The Haves and the Have-Nots

December 1, 2010

Milanovic, lead economist at the World Bank's research division, offers an innovative look at price and consumption differences. His objective "is to unveil the importance that differences in income and wealth, affluence, and poverty play in our ordinary lives as well as the importance that they have had historically." This book is divided into three parts: inequality among individuals within a single country, inequality in income among countries or nations, and global inequality or inequality among citizens of the world. Milanovic illustrates his discussion with anecdotes from fiction and fact, e.g., examining the wealth of Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy, Anna Karenina's monetary advantage in marrying, and the wealth of individuals from different eras such as John D. Rockefeller and Bill Gates. He also considers how location shapes one's economic future, how income determines choice of life partner, and how the inequality gap between rich and poor is created around the globe. Bibliographic references, charts, and tables are included. VERDICT Students, practitioners, and anyone interested in economics and the issue of inequality would enjoy this.--Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2010

The lead economist at the World Bank's research division takes a timely look at the inequality of income and wealth.

Global inequality is "extremely high," writes Milanovic (Worlds Apart: Measuring International and Global Inequality, 2005), with the richest ten percent of income recipients receiving 56 percent of global income, while the poorest ten percent receive only 0.7 percent. A few poor countries are catching up with the rich world, but the differences between the richest and poorest individuals are enormous and likely to grow. In this wide-ranging book, the author examines inequality within nations and between nations, using vignettes to illustrate how wealth and income differences play out in daily life. However, Milanovic's detailed explanations of how available data can be used to produce insights are often complex and dense--they will be rough going for most non-specialists. Fortunately, the anecdotes make up most of the book and shed considerable light on a grab-bag of issues related to inequalities past and present. For instance: Although Marcus Crassus of ancient Rome had an income equal to the annual incomes of about 32,000 people of his time, John D. Rockefeller was probably the richest person ever, with an income equal to that of about 116,000 people in 1937. Rome wins hands down, however, when the income of its senators (about $21 million annually) is compared to that of today's U.S. senators (less than $700,000). In China, where inequality doubled between the 1980s and 2005, the disparity between haves and have-nots threatens national unity. Anywhere in the world, writes Milanovic, more than 80 percent of a person's income can be explained by two factors: place of birth and parents' income class. The only ways to improve one's income: hard work, growth in the national mean income of one's country (carrying the entire population with it) and immigration. The author also discusses differences between the United States and the European Union, similarities between Asia and Latin America and whether the world actually has a middle class ("at best only emerging").

Authoritative but not easy reading.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from December 15, 2010
Milanovic defies the typical image of an economist by presenting research overlaid with humor, literary insights, and fully imagined portraits of daily life as he examines inequality across time and continents. He weighs the wealth divide between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice as well as Anna Kareninas financial prospects had she married Vronsky. He ponders John Rawls, Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and others to explore theories regarding the rich and the poor. Using complicated economic models that he explains very well, Milanovic breaks down incomes to make comparisons between the haves and the have-nots within nations, between nations, and among citizens of the world. He offers vignettes that make his concepts all the more accessible and entertaining as he explains the errors of Marxism and why a persons relative wealth is determined more by their country of origin than by their familys wealth. Milanovic writes as much like a philosopher as an economist as he ponders the growing trend of inequality in income around the world and answers questions many readers likely ask themselves about their economic prospects.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)