In his chapter, Andrew Glyn analyzes whether internal or external constraints have been more important in blocking the adoption of more egalitarian economic policies, especially in the European context. Glyn acknowledges that both internal and external constraints exist, and he also accepts that internal and external constraints sometimes interact with each other. But on the whole, Glyn concludes that “internal domestic problems…remain the fundamental ones.”

A first point to note is that the “egalitarian policies” discussed in this chapter are somewhat limited in scope. The main focus of the chapter is on the use of expansionary fiscal policies to promote full employment. Even monetary policy is discussed only tangentially, insofar as it impacts on the effectiveness of fiscal expansion. Complementary micro-level policies to enhance equity are not discussed.

Glyn makes a convincing case that boosting aggregate demand would have a positive impact on job creation for “less-qualified” or lower-paid workers. He does not say whether he thinks higher employment would help to significantly narrow the growing inequality in the distribution of income currently observed in Europe and the United States alike. In the U.S. context, at least, the evidence seems to be that the macroeconomic recovery and close-to-full employment conditions of the mid-to late 1990s have not done much to narrow the growing income gaps that arose in the 1980s. Thus, it appears that expanding aggregate demand and creating full employment are necessary but not sufficient steps for achieving more egalitarian outcomes in the face of structural changes that are making societies more unequal.