2020 Vilfredo Pareto Lecture Online: “Inequality, Redistribution and the Labour Market”

Richard Blundell, University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies

Welcome Address, Giorgio Barba Navaretti (University of Milan and Fondazione Collegio Carlo Alberto)
Introduction, Alessandro Sembenelli (University of Turin and Fondazione Collegio Carlo Alberto)

Abstract
Discussion of inequalities increasingly defines economic and political debate. Concerns abound that the poor are being left behind by the rich, the young by the old, the regions by the metropolis, the unskilled by the highly educated. Inequalities exist not just in income and living standards, but in wealth, health, family environments, life chances and political influence. In the decade since the financial crisis, the overall squeeze on living standards has brought these inequalities into sharper focus. The Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated existing inequalities and, at the same time, opened up new fissures along dimensions that were previously less significant. We cannot hope to address all the concerns about low wages and earnings inequality through the tax and welfare system alone. The key challenge to be addressed in this lecture is how to best balance tax and welfare-benefit policy with other policies such as minimum wages, human capital policies, and competition policy. This talk will outline the work of the IFS-Deaton Review: “Inequality in the 21st Century” and also provide some reflections on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the inequality and policy responses.