Sustainable Development Goals and Income Inequality

Edited by Peter A.G. van Bergeijk, Professor of International Economics and Macroeconomics and Rolph van der Hoeven, Professor Emeritus of Employment and Development Economics, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, The Hague, the Netherlands

'The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations have set the most ambitious development agenda in history. For the first time, income inequality was included as a specific goal, and one that is essential to stem one of the worst trends that the world has been experiencing in recent decades. Ambitious political efforts will be needed to reverse this trend because without equality the inclusive and transformative development that the SDGs have set cannot be achieved. Providing accessible analysis and evidence-based policy advice, Sustainable Development Goals and Income Inequality is a must read for development researchers and practitioners, politicians and concerned citizens alike.'--Jose Antonio Ocampo, Member of the Central Bank Board of Colombia, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs'Sustainable Development Goals and Income Inequality is a timely book. It discusses causes and consequences of the unprecedented rise of income inequality, and especially functional income inequality, over the last twenty years in developing countries. It demonstrates that the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015, though acknowledging the inequality problem, provide only weak recommendations to stem this growing inequality. In this easily accessible book, well-known scholars thoroughly analyse and discuss policy alternatives for a more equal and transformative development process and portray what citizens and governments can do to achieve that.'--Thandika Mkandawire, London School of Economics, former Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)'This book puts the post-2015 sustainable development agenda in thought-provoking perspective. The two editors and an expert group of leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of economic development take the reader on a most stimulating voyage into the realm of the MDGs and the SDGs. They pointedly ask whether the SDGs have the potential to address the thorny issues of inclusiveness in implementation, manageability, appropriate measurement and financial planning. The book departs from the need for transformative development and zooms in on the vast challenge of income inequality. A timely and much-needed contribution.'--Finn Tarp, Director, UNU-WIDER

• Contents:1. The challenge to reduce income inequality (introduction and overview)Peter A.G. van Bergeijk and Rolph van der Hoeven2. Broadening the development agenda for the SDG worldRichard Jolly3. From MDGs to SDGs: critical reflections on global targets and their measurementJan Vandemoortele4. From billions to trillions: towards reform of development finance and the global reserve systemRob Vos5. Global inequality and global poverty since the Cold War: how robust is the optimistic narrative?Peter Edward and Andy Sumner6. Is Latin America’s recent inequality decline permanent or temporary?Giovanni Andrea Cornia7. Thirty years in Africa’s development: from structural adjustment to structural transformation?Tony Addison8. Poverty, employment and inequality in the SDGs: heterodox discourse, orthodox policies?Malte Luebker9. Can catch up reduce inequality?Deepak Nayyar10. Can the SDGs stem rising income inequality in the world?Rolph van der HoevenIndex