Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality

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Inheritance typically constitutes a larger share of women’s wealth compared to men’s. A WP by @naomicrowther.bsky.social & @louisaroos.bsky.social uses registry data from Sweden to investigate the impact of inheritance on the gender wealth gap.
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/publications...

A grid of six people, different expressions & backgrounds

Our new season of public programs was just announced and people are signing up. Reserve today to join us in person or online: www.gc.cuny.edu/public-progr... Feat. Frank Rich, Lina M. Khan, Paul Krugman, Elijah Wald, Qween Jean, Rocío Márquez & more! @CUNY

Thanks to Jan Stuhler (Carlos III of Madrid) for presenting his paper on intergenerational mobility and assortative mating in the US at Dep of Law at Roma Tre University.
Join us again on Feb. 18 for the next Inequality InRome seminar with Stefano Caria
More info: sites.google.com/view/inequal...

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A new WP that uses data from U.S. academic jobs shows that a person's socioeconomic background is an important determinant not just of their career starting point, but of their career progression. Read the WP on the academia class gap by @annastansbury.bsky.social & Kyra Rodriguez.

bit.ly/4ab6xRs

On social tables & their methodology.

Stone Center Working Paper Series - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality yes

The paper, which focuses on 19th century estimates, proposes a set of "rules" or a broadly common methodology to enable better comparability of the results. Read the paper by @brankomilan.bsky.social, @philerfurth.bsky.social, @mgzl.bsky.social, & @ggabbuti.bsky.social.

Abstract of working paper

A new WP discusses methodological issues that arise in the study of inequality using social tables, an approach commonly employed for estimating income distributions in societies where neither income surveys nor tax data are available.
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/publications...

Affordability, Antitrust, and Inequality: Lina M. Khan and Paul Krugman in Conversation - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Hear from two leading economic thinkers about how to solve the complex crisis of affordability.

"Affordability, Antitrust, and Inequality" -- Register now for the free in-person and livestream event with Lina Khan and @pkrugman.bsky.social. March 9, 6:30 pm, at @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social.

stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/event/afford...

Grid of 6 headshots, a variety of expressions & backgrounds

Announcing spring 2026 public programs! Join us in person or online - reserve now: www.gc.cuny.edu/public-progr... Feat. journalist Frank Rich, former FTC chair Lina Khan, Nobel winner @pkrugman.bsky.social, author @elijahwald.bsky.social, designer Qween Jean, singer Rocío Márquez & more! @cuny.edu

New WP alert!👇👇👇

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A WP by Maximilian Longmuir @smaexie.bsky.social provides new evidence on the relationship between household investment decisions and wealth inequality, and examines the role of policies that support broader risky financial market engagement.

stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/publications...

The end of a long period of decreasing global inequality?

Concept 3 is Gini between world citizens calculated from some 110+ representative national household surveys with incomes of individuals expressed in PPP dollars.

Stone Center Working Paper Series - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality yes

The new WP is by Francisco Ferreira, Vito Peragine, @paolobrunori.bsky.social, @psalasr.bsky.social & their coauthors, and is part of the Stone Center Working Paper Series.
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/research-dat...

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A new online database includes comparable estimates of inequality of opportunity for 72 countries that cover 2/3 of the world population. The share of total inequality that is due to inherited circumstances ranges from 19% (Denmark) to 77% (South Africa).
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/publications...

Celina Su, in Budget Justice, Sees City Politics as a Way for People to Come Together - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Celina Su, an author, poet, and the inaugural Marilyn J. Gittell Chair in Urban Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, discusses her recent book, Budget Justice: On Building Grassroots Politics and Soli...

"Budget Justice," the new book by GC CUNY Professor and Mamdani transition committee member Celina Su, discusses how participatory budgeting helps give city residents the resources and power to address their basic needs.
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/celina-su-in...

🚨 We're hiring an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Economics

Only 5 days left to apply. See details 👇

Gold, volk and IQs Hayek’s fatal conceit

The list (in no particular order) of the books that I liked the most and read in 2025, with my reviews:
Quinn Slobodian, Hayek's Bastards
Gold, volk and IQs
branko2f7.substack.com/p/gold-volk-...

Abstract of paper

How have different approaches to incorporating high-income populations into household surveys been implemented in practice? A forthcoming chapter by Nora Lustig and Andrea Vigorito, along with this WP companion piece, provides a comprehensive analytical survey on the subject.
bit.ly/4qmKQ7H

Most people aren’t fretting about an AI bubble. What they fear is mass layoffs | Steven Greenhouse Artificial intelligence could make income inequality even worse and create a new underclass. Governments and society must take action

Steven Greenhouse on AI & work. He cites Acemoglu: there are "essentially two routes for developing AI: an anti-worker route and a pro-worker route." Includes link to video of related panel, co-hosted by @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social and @stone-lis.bsky.social.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Thanks to Social Policy Blog for posting our blog and for pointing readers interested in the politics of #fathers' leave to the original article: Martin Gurín & Janet C. Gornick, 2024, Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy 40:3.
@stone-lis.bsky.social
@paidleaveforall.bsky.social

Congratulations, Aman Desai. Your friends at the GC-CUNY Stone Center are delighted that you've landed this well-deserved tenure track position! We wish you smooth sailing.🎉
@stone-lis.bsky.social
@milescorak.com
@thegraduatecenter.bsky.social

Decomposing World Income Distribution: Does The World Have A Middle Class? Using the national income/expenditure distribution data from 111 countries, we decompose total inequality between the individuals in the world, by continents and regions. We use Yitzhaki’s Gini decom...

My paper with Shlomo Yitzhaki whose work and life we shall celebrate on May 20, 2026 at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Decomposing World Income Distribution: Does the World Have a Middle Class? Review of Income & Wealth, 2002.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

From a Tough Job Market to the Tenure Track at Quinnipiac University Economics alumnus Aman Desai recovered from a setback to land a role that allows him to teach and pursue his research on how childhood inequality affects both individuals and society.

Congratulations to alumnus Aman Desai, who recovered from a setback to land a tenure-track position in economics and data science at Quinnipiac University! www.gc.cuny.edu/news/tough-j... @stone-lis.bsky.social

Great to host Giulia Giupponi (Università Bocconi) for her talk on "Company Wage Policy in a Low-Wage Labor Market".
📸 Some moments from the event below.
Next up: Dec 10 | The final Inequality InRome seminar of the Fall 2025 series.
Info and registration: sites.google.com/view/inequal...

From under the rubble A review of Grdešić and Žitko’s “Socialist Economics in Yugoslavia: A Critical History”

My today's Substack:
From under the rubble
A review of Grdešić and Žitko’s “Socialist Economics in Yugoslavia: A Critical History”
branko2f7.substack.com/p/from-under...

Join the next Inequality in Rome seminar!
Wed Nov 26 | 12–1 PM
Antonio Scialà (@RomaTreUniversity) will present:
“Patterns and drivers of EU income inequality: an analysis of EU-SILC data”
In person & online | Light lunch to follow
Info e registration: sites.google.com/view/inequal...

Abstract text of working paper

Expecting an inheritance influences an individual's education decisions — not because of the anticipated windfall, but because the heir will need to finance future intergenerational transfers, a new working paper by @janmazza.bsky.social finds.

stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/publications...

“Italy’s light touch on inheritance tax comes at a cost”
Thanks to @reuters.com for drawing on GCWealthProject data (via @stone-lis.bsky.social) to show that, in Italy, inherited wealth as a share of GDP has doubled over the past 30 years, while the inheritance tax remains one of the lowest in Eu

The Illusion of “Degrowth” in a Poor and Unequal World - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality An excerpt from Branko Milanovic's latest book, The World Under Capitalism: Observations on Economics Politics, History, and Culture, a 2025 collection of his essays from the last decade.

"The illusion of 'Degrowth' in a Poor and Unequal World," an essay from @brankomilan.bsky.social's 2025 collection, "The World Under Capitalism," explains why degrowth isn't a viable way to reduce emissions. Read the excerpt on the Stone Center site.
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/the-illusion...

A photo from Celina Su's book talk on Budget Justice

Celina Su reflecting on the simultaneous emergence of participatory budgeting and direct democracy, and her experience of Occupy Wall Street (and the wider movement of the squares) in the wake of the Great Recession. @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social @humanitiescuny.bsky.social