Booklist Review
*Starred Review* 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 Karenina's 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 person's relative wealth is determined more by their country of origin than by their family's 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.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
WHO needs to keep up with the Joneses? What people really care about is keeping up with the Rockefellers. That's the main theme of "The Haves and the Have-Nots," an eclectic book on inequality that attempts to document the long history of coveting by the poor, and the grim consequences of that coveting. Written by the World Bank economist and development specialist Branko Milanovic, this survey of income distribution past and present is constructed as a sort of textbook-almanac hybrid. It revolves around three technical essays summarizing the academic literature on inequality, which are each followed by a series of quick-hit vignettes about quirkier subjects, like how living standards in 19th-century Russia may have influenced Anna Karenina's doomed romance, or who the richest person in history was. The first essay is a primer on how economists think about income inequality within a country - in particular, how it is measured, and how it is related to a country's overall economic health. At a very basic, agrarian level of development, Milanovic explains, people's incomes are relatively equal; everyone is living at or close to subsistence level. But as more advanced technologies become available and enable workers to differentiate their skills, a gulf between rich and poor becomes possible. This section also gingerly approaches the contentious debate over whether inequality is good or bad for economic growth, but ultimately quibbles with the question itself. "There is 'good' and 'bad' inequality," Milanovic writes, "just as there is good and bad cholesterol." The possibility of unequal economic outcomes motivates people to work harder, he argues, although at some point it can lead to the preservation of acquired positions, which causes economies to stagnate. In his second and third essays, Milanovic switches to his obvious passion: inequality around the world. These sections encourage readers to better appreciate their own living standards and to think more skeptically about who is responsible for their success. As Milanovic notes, an astounding 60 percent of a person's income is determined merely by where she was born (and an additional 20 percent is dictated by how rich her parents were). He also makes interesting international comparisons. The typical person in the top 5 percent of the Indian population, for example, makes the same as or less than the typical person in the bottom 5 percent of the American population. That's right: America's poorest are, on average, richer than India's richest - extravagant Mumbai mansions notwithstanding. It is no wonder then, Milanovic says, that so many from the third world risk life and limb to sneak into the first. A recent World Bank survey suggested that "countries that have done economically poorly would, if free migration were allowed, remain perhaps without half or more of their populations." Mass-migration attempts are met with sealed borders in the developed world, which then results in the deaths of thousands of anonymous indigents journeying to promised lands only to be swallowed up by the Mediterranean or charred in the Arizona desert. But while Milanovic demonstrates that inequality between countries is unquestionably toxic, he is less persuasive about the effects of inequality within countries. He frequently assumes that this kind of inequality is by its very nature problematic, but provides scant historical evidence about why, particularly if mobility is possible. In general, mobility - and the policies that promote it - are given disappointingly little space. The same goes for how income inequality might affect the functioning of a democracy. As a result of such blind spots, "The Haves and the Have-Nots" can feel somewhat patchy or disorganized at times. Milanovic's more colorful vignettes, on the other hand, are almost uniformly delightful. No matter where you are on the income ladder, Milanovic's examination of whether Bill Gates is richer than Nero makes for great cocktail party conversation. Catherine Rampell is the economics editor at NYTimes.com.
Choice Review
Summing inequality among individuals within a nation and inequality among nations yields global inequality (inequality among all citizens of the world). Milanovic (World Bank and Univ. of Maryland) investigates these three aspects of inequality using an interesting expository device. Each of the book's three sections is introduced by a moderately technical essay on what economists have learned about that particular type of inequality. Then a collection of vignettes illustrate the key points. For example, in the "Unequal People" section Milanovic compares the relative wealth of Anna and Count Vronsky in Anna Karenina (with appropriate homage paid to Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett); in the "Unequal Nations" section, he discusses standard of living differences between President Barack Obama and his father and grandfather; in the "Unequal World" section, he shows how concentration in wealth has reduced competitiveness among European soccer clubs. Most of the other vignettes, such as "Who Gains from Fiscal Redistribution?" and "Does the World Have a Middle Class?" are a bit more solemn in tone. Regardless, the device will keep both specialists and nonspecialists engaged and learning. This is a wonderful book for anyone to read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. R. S. Rycroft University of Mary Washington
Guardian Review
Is economic "inequality" a bad thing? Is there more of it than there used to be? Economist Milanovic thoughtfully surveys three types of inequality: that within a country, that between countries, and that between all global citizens. The book is split amiably between "essays" on major topics and shorter "vignettes" on, for instance, marriage economics in Pride and Prejudice ("One would really have to hate Mr Darcy to reject the deal he is tacitly offering"), inequality within the Roman empire, or the (lack of) evidence for a modern "global middle class". Milanovic calculates that "more than 80% of variability in income globally is due to circumstances given at birth": nationality and parents' income. (After other factors, "the portion left for effort must be very, very small".) It is therefore perfectly rational for poor people to try to move to rich countries (the author writes sympathetically of the "paper-burners" trying to enter Europe from North Africa). Global inequality even, on Milanovic's view, increases the likelihood of global "chaos" (Somalian piracy or Mexican swine flu). The tone throughout is wryly humane: "Inequality studies are not particularly appreciated by the rich." - Steven Poole [Milanovic] calculates that "more than 80% of variability in income globally is due to circumstances given at birth": nationality and parents' income. (After other factors, "the portion left for effort must be very, very small".) - Steven Poole.
Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
