Media Contact:
Carrie Conko
Director of Communications
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4899
Email: cconko@gmu.edu
For Richer or Poorer: America's Standard of Living
| Start: | Wednesday, April 11, 2007 12:00 PM |
| End: | Friday, April 13, 2007 01:30 PM |
| Location: | B-339 Rayburn House Office Building |
The twentieth century saw unprecedented technological advancement and economic growth that exponentially increased the average American's standard of living. However, this economic growth was not distributed evenly across the population. Numerous reports show growing income disparity between the wealthy and the poor and a shrinking middle class.
From these reports, a focus has emerged on the haves and the have-nots in our society. More often than not, it appears that the wealthiest and most economically successful groups disproportionately enjoy economic growth. From education to health care, policy decisions are often discussed within a framework that divides society between economic classes. But is our understanding of rich and poor accurate? How do we effectively measure inequality?
The Mercatus Center hosted a three-day course that featured new insights from economists Dr. Russ Roberts from The Mercatus Center at George Mason University and Dr. John Nye from Washington University in St. Louis. Participants discussed the following questions:
- What is inequality? How is it measured? Can it be measured accurately?
- What are the causes of rising inequality?
- Do perceptions of inequality match objective measures?
- Do various policies to alleviate inequality achieve their intended outcomes?
- What are potential future sets of conflicts concerning inequality and economic growth? How will these conflicts affect the debate about income inequality?
- Is income inequality the most important measure?
Session 1 (12-1:30pm): Wednesday, April 11th:
Inequality: A Big Picture Perspective
Dr. Russ Roberts, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and the J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center
Session 2 (12-1:30pm): Thursday, April 12th:
Mining the Data: The Numbers Behind Inequality in America
Click Here to view Dr. Robert's Handout from this lecture
Session 3 (12-1:30pm): Friday, April 13th:
Inequality and Economic Growth: What Gets Worse as Things Get Better?
Dr. John V.C. Nye, Professor of Economics at Washington University in St. Louis
Please Click Here to view Dr. Nye's lecture
If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Joanna Wilson at 703.993.4887 or jwilsons@gmu.edu.
