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In the past 25 years, the distribution of income and wealth in Britain and the US has grown enormously unequal, far more so than in other advanced countries. The book, which is aimed at both an academic and a general audience, examines how this happened, starting with the economic shocks of the 1970s and the neo-liberal policies first applied under Thatcher and Reagan. In essence, growing inequality and economic instability is seen as driven by a US-style model of free-market capitalism that is increasingly deregulated and dominated by the financial sector. Using a wealth of examples and empirical data, the book explores the social costs entailed by relative deprivation and widespread income insecurity, costs which affect not just the poor but now reach well into the middle classes. Uniquely, the author shows how inequality, changing consumption patterns and global financial turbulence are interlinked. -- Back cover.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Central American Integration: A Suitable Case for Treatment -- 2 A Macroeconomic Overview of the Central American Economies -- 3 Industrial Development in Central America, 1960-1980: Issues of Debate -- 4 Can Regional Import Substitution and Export-Led Growth Be Combined? -- 5 Central American Economic Integration: Renewed Prospects in the Midst of Crisis -- 6 Central America's External Debt: Past Growth and Projected Burden -- 7 The Regional Monetary System and Economic Recovery -- 8 The Reconstruction of the CACM and European Cooperation -- References -- About the Series -- Index.

ABSTRACTFor two of the richest English‐speaking countries, Britain and the United States, growing income inequality has been a persistent feature of the past thirty years, leading some economists to question the cosy assumption that as economic development proceeds, intra‐country inequality must ultimately fall. Various hypotheses have been advanced to explain this phenomenon, the best known being that the technological revolution has driven a wedge between skilled and unskilled labour, but none is remotely convincing. Fundamentally, it is a question of political economy whether under conditions of stagnant real wages and a falling wage share, growth in deregulated, finance‐driven economies can last. The argument advanced here is that probably it cannot. The profit squeeze of the 1970s having given way to a neoliberal wage squeeze, growth came to depend on asset bubble driven consumption and investment. The Great Recession of 2008 raises questions not merely about neoliberal beliefs, but about whether future capitalist growth can occur unless investment is socialized.