Richer and More Equal

“Daniel Waldenstrom presents a new and compelling interpretation of wealth accumulation and wealth inequality over the past two centuries in advanced capitalist countries. Not only has more wealth than ever before been created, but its distribution, with the rising importance of private housing and private pension funds, has become more equal. Some may disagree with his conclusions, but no one can afford to overlook the book.”
Branko Milanovic, author of Visions of Inequality

“This engaging book shows that inequality is not a law of nature or economics. While the United States has seen a rise in income and wealth inequality in recent years, other Western countries have remained more equal, even amidst economic growth. The book demonstrates that inequality is shaped by wage policies and political and institutional factors. Shared prosperity is not an automatic process but neither is it an unattainable goal.”
Daron Acemoglu, MIT

“In this provocative and persuasive book, Waldenstrom shows us that, to understand the evolution of wealth inequality, we should go beyond considering the impact of war and catastrophe. We need to recognize the critical fact that an average household today enjoys far more wealth than was the case in the past, and this has deep implications. A very welcome addition to the debate.”
David Stasavage, New York University

“With abundant new data and analyses, Waldenstrom proposes a striking new history of wealth inequality. The prevailing Jeremiads, which find capitalism and rising inequality to be inevitable bedmates, are wrong. Modern growth has substantially reduced wealth inequality in most societies in the past 100 years, not increased it.”
Gregory Clark, University of California, Davis

"this is an important book"
John Rentoul, The Independent

“fascinating […] This is an important perspective.”
Martin Wolf, The Financial Times, Best summer books of 2024: Economics