Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T19:07:42.961Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Efficiency, Poverty and Inequalities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2022

Nicola Acocella
Affiliation:
Sapienza Università di Roma
Get access

Summary

The crises and stagnation have had multiple effects on efficiency and equity. With reference to dynamic efficiency, the effects of the crisis seem not to be negative, as the R&D/GDP ratio has not fallen. But this largely depends on the fact that the drop in the GDP makes the ratio to rise and the absolute amount of R&D expenses does not fall, as they are rather inflexible. Most indicators of poverty and inequality clearly show the negative effects of the crisis, even if the true effects are partially absorbed by the impact of the rise in welfare state expenditures.

The first instrument in favour of dynamic efficiency in general is offered by competition-oriented market policies. In order to foster innovation, proper fiscal or financial incentives can be implemented. As to environmental problems, public policy can focus on regulation, financial incentives, environmental taxes, voluntary agreements to achieve environmental objectives.

Some of the policies for inequalities act on primary distribution, such as the minimum wage, promotion of collective bargaining, guarantee of rights of workers to organize. Policies acting on secondary distribution are unemployment benefits, progressive taxation of income, differential taxation of labour and capital income.

This low growth can be interpreted as the - temporary - product of the financial cycle, reflecting the effects of the banking crises occurring during the crisis, or as the manifestation of a deeper trend, arising from multiple factors and accentuated by the Great Recession and the Covid-19 crisis, by growing inequalities and globalisation. Such a situation requires numerous policies, e.g., strengthening of the public budget, adoption of stimulative monetary policies

Type
Chapter
Information
Economic Policy in the 21st Century
The Four Great Challenges
, pp. 100 - 130
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×