At 11:07 16/06/2007 +0100, J.Ginn wrote:
>How interesting! I thought such ideas, initiated a long time ago by
>Friedman and Hayek and more recently propagated by the neocons in
>Washington and World Bank, had now been discredited by modern economists.
>
>For example, the 'trickle down' theory has been consigned to the
>bin, as a result of experience of failure of World Bank 'structural
>adjustment' programmes. And the theory that saving through private
>pensions benefits an economy has gone the same way, at least among
>academic economists - see Joseph Stiglitz; Jan Toporowski; Hughes
>and Stewart on the pensions issue.
>
>Other researchers (notably Kawachi) have shown the adverse effects
>of income inequality on social trust and cohesion. Consequences
>include higher mortality rates and also crime rates. Others have
>established how the damage to health from inequality of income and
>status occurs (eg Wilkinson; Marmot).
>
>But perhaps you would be more convinced if economists on this list
>explain the inefficiencies of unequal incomes and wealth.
Never mind politics and economists, look at the data. Lynn and
Vanhanen (2002) found that apart from the mean intelligence of the
population, economic freedom was the most important factor in
determining a country's wealth.
Martin
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