Böcker av Evelyne Huber

A wide-ranging examination of how policies, parties, and labor strength affect inequality in post-industrial societies. Not all countries are unequal in the same ways or to the same degree. In Challenging Inequality, Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens analyze different patterns of increasing income inequality in post-industrial societies since the 1980s, assessing the policies and social structures best able to mitigate against the worst effects of market inequality. Combining statistical data analysis from twenty-two countries with a comparative historical analysis of Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, Huber and Stephens identify the factors that drive increases in inequality and shape persistent, marked differences between countries. Their statistical analysis confirms generalizable patterns and in-depth country studies help to further elucidate the processes at work. Challenging Inequality shows how the combination of globalization and skill-biased technological change has led to both labor market dualization and rising unemployment levels, which in turn have had important effects on inequality and poverty. Labor strength--at both the society level and the enterprise level--has helped to counter rising market income inequality, as has a history of strong human capital spending. The generosity of the welfare state remains the most important factor shaping redistribution, while the consistent power of left parties is the common denominator behind both welfare state generosity and human capital investment.

Although inequality in Latin America ranks among the worst in the world, it has notably declined over the years, offset by improvements in health care and education, enhanced programs for social assistance, and increases in the minimum wage. The author argues that the resurgence of democracy in Latin America is key to this change.

This text offers a systematic examination of the origins, character, effects and prospects of generous welfare states in advanced industrial democracies in the post-World War II era. The authors demonstrate that prolonged government by different parties results in different welfare states.