"Globalization and Inequality Past and Present"

46 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 1996 Last revised: 2 Jan 2023

See all articles by Jeffrey G. Williamson

Jeffrey G. Williamson

Harvard University - Department of Economics, Laird Bell Professor of Economics, Emeritus; Honorary Fellow, University of Wisconsin - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: March 1996

Abstract

The late 19th and the late 20th century shared more than simply globalization and convergence. Globalization also seems to have had the same impact on income distribution: in the late 19th century, inequality rose in rich countries and fell in poor countries; according to Adrian Wood, the same has been true of the late 20th century. Furthermore, while George Borjas and Wood think that globalization accounted for something like a third to a half of the rise in inequality in America and other OECD countries since the 1970s, the late 19th century evidence suggests at least the same, perhaps more. However, those modern economists who favor a rising inequality explanation coming from (unskilled)-labor-saving technological change will be pleased to hear that it probably accounted for more than a third of the rising inequality in the New World and for more than a half of the falling inequality in Europe. It also appears that the inequality trends which globalization produced prior to World War I were at least partly responsible for the interwar retreat from globalization. Will the world economy of the next century also retreat from its commitment to globalization because of its inequality side effects?

Suggested Citation

Williamson, Jeffrey G., "Globalization and Inequality Past and Present" (March 1996). NBER Working Paper No. w5491, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3394

Jeffrey G. Williamson (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Department of Economics, Laird Bell Professor of Economics, Emeritus ( email )

Littauer Center
Room 216
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
617-495-2438 (Phone)
617-496-7352 (Fax)

Honorary Fellow, University of Wisconsin - Department of Economics

716 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53706-1481
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
414
Abstract Views
4,767
Rank
130,357
PlumX Metrics