Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Inequality, US Survey Results and Economic Analysis: The Case for Structural Trumpism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Global Trump

  • 1151 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter combines new insights from economic globalization and digitalization analysis with inequality statistics and new US survey results which show the main concerns of US households and voters, respectively. While rising economic inequality is considered to be a problem in the US survey, the relative majority of respondents express the expectation that large companies will take action to correct excessive inequality—a view that is wishful thinking and which is bound to result in sustained voter frustration for the lower half of the US income pyramid. This implies a structural populism problem in the US, which is a totally new situation: with challenges for the North America, Europe, Asia and the world. This new structural US populism hypothesis is linked to deep implications for trade policy and anti-multilateralism. Meanwhile, the Council of Economic Advisers’ 2018 study comparing per capita consumption in the US and Nordic European countries is also refuted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alesina, A., Glaeser, E., & Sacerdote, B. (2001). Why Doesn’t the United States Have a European-Style Welfare State? Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2, 187–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alvaredo, F, Chancel, L., Piketty, T., Saez, E., & Zucman, G.. (2018). World Inequality Report 2018. World Inequality Report. Retrieved from https://wir2018.wid.world/.

  • Autor, D., Dorn, D., & Hanson, G. (2016). The China Shock: Learning from Labor-Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade. Annual Review of Economics, 8, 205–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BBC. (2016). Reality Check: Who Voted for Donald Trump, November 9. Retrieved September 26, 2018, from https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37922587.

  • Blankenhorn, D. (2018). The Top 14 Causes of Political Polarization. The American Interest, May 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bratberg, E., Davis, J., Mazumder, B., Nybom, M., Schnitzlein, D., & Vaage, K. (2017). A Comparison of Intergenerational Mobility Curves in Germany, Norway, Sweden and the US. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 199, 72–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breemersch, K., Damijan, J., & Konings, J. (2017). Labour Market Polarization in Advanced Countries: Impact of Global Value Chains, Technology, Import Competition from China and Labour Market Institutions. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 197. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/1815199X.

  • Bretschger, L., & Hettich, F. (2002). Globalisation, Capital Mobility and Tax Competition: Theory and Evidence for OECD Countries. European Journal of Political Economy, 18, 695–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burda, M. (2018). Der Elefant im Zimmer [Translation: The Elephant in the Room]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Print Edition, October 15, no. 239, p. 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cingano, F. (2014). Trends in Income Inequality and Its Impact on Economic Growth. OECD Social Employment and Migration Working Paper No. 163. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conover, M. D., Ratkiewicz, J., Francisco, M., Goncalves, B., Flammini, A., & Menczer, F. (2011). Political Polarization on Twitter. Proceedings of the Fifth International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, pp. 89–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corak, M. (2006). Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults? Lessons for Public Policy from a Cross Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility. In Dynamics of Inequality (Research on Economic Inequality) (Vol. 13, pp. 143–188). Amsterdam: Elsevier Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Council of Economic Advisers. (2017, January). Economic Report of the President. Retrieved from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2017_economic_report_of_president.pdf.

  • Council of Economic Advisers. (2018, October). The Opportunity Cost of Socialism. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch, R., & Edwards, S. (1991). The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America. Journal of Development Economics, 32, 247–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eichengreen, B. (2018). The Populist Temptation—Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Federal Statistical Office. (2018). Statistical Data on Switzerland 2018. Neuchâtel: Federal Statistical Office of Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldstein, M. (2008). Did Wages Reflect Growth in Productivity? Journal of Policy Modeling, 30, 591–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foellmi, R., & Martinez, I. (2017). Volatile Top Income Shares in Switzerland? Reassessing the Evolution Between 1981 and 2010. Review of Economics and Statistics, 99(5), 793–809. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fouarge, D., Schils, T., & De Grip, A. (2013). Why Do Low-Educated Workers Invest Less in Further Training? Applied Economics, 45(18), 2587–2601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassett, K. (2018). Chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisers. Speech to the Japan Centre for Economic Research, Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, on August 1. Transcript Published by White House on August 3. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-cea-chairman-kevin-hassett-japan-center-economic-research/.

  • Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2019). The World Happiness Report 2019. In J. F. Helliwell, R. Layard, & J, Sachs (Eds.). Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2019/WHR19.pdf.

  • Horenstein, A. R., & Santos, M. S. (2019). Understanding Growth Patterns in US Health Care Expenditures. Journal of the European Economic Association, 17(1), 284–326. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvx059.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, P. et al. (2017). Social Media, News and Political Information During the US Election: Was Polarizing Content Concentrated in Swing States?, Data Memo 2017.8. The Computational Propaganda Project, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF. (2015). People’s Republic of China: Staff Report for the 2015 Article IV Consultation. IMF Country Report 15/234. Washington, DC: IMF.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMF. (2018, October). World Economic Outlook. Washington, DC: IMF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R., Haerpfer, C., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano, J., Lagos, M., Norris, P., Ponarin, E., Puranen, B. et al. (eds.). (2014). World Values Survey: Round Six—Country-Pooled Datafile. Madrid: JD Systems Institute. Retrieved from http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWV6.jsp.

  • Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2016). Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash, Harvard Kennedy School. Faculty Research Working Paper, RWP16-026.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jameel, A. L. (2014, January). Insuring the Uninsured, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Poverty Action 5 (Briefcase; Featuring an Evaluation by Principal Investigators Katherine Baicker and Amy Finkelstein).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaumotte, F., Lall, S., & Papageorgiou, C. (2008). Rising Income Inequality: Technology, or Trade and Financial Globalization. IMF Working Paper WP/08/185, IMF: Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, H. G. (1967). Economic Nationalism in Old and New States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jovanovic, B., & Rousseau, P. I. (2005). General Purpose Technologies. In P. Aghion & S. Durlauf (Eds.), Handbook of Economic Growth. Amsterdam: Elsevier North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. H., & Shikher, S. (2017). Can Protectionism Improve Trade Balance? Working Paper 2017-10-B, U.S. International Trade Commission, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landersø, R., & Heckman, J. (2017). The Scandinavian Fantasy: The Sources of Intergenerational Mobility in Denmark and the US. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 119(1), 178–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). How Democracies Die. New York: Crown Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, C. A. (1954). Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour. Manchester School, 22, 139–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindh, A., & McCall, L. (2018). Reconsidering the Popular Policy of Redistribution: Preferences for Reducing Economic Inequality in the US, Forthcoming. Paper Presented at Expert Group Meeting on “New Research on Inequality and its Impacts” at UN Headquarters in New York, Sept 12–13, 2018, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Toledano, C. (2017). Housing Bubbles, Offshore Assets and Wealth Inequality in Spain (1984–2013), WID.World Working Paper No. 19/2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Medina, L., & Schneider, F. (2017, March). Shadow Economies Around the World: New Results for 158 Countries Over 1991–2015. CESifo Working Paper No. 6430.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2008). Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2015). In It Together—Why Less Inequality Benefits All. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2018). A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility. COPE Policy Brief. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollak, J. B., & Schweikart, L. (2017). How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, G. (2016). Wake up—Britain is Heading for Brexit, Opinion Brexit. Financial Times, March 21. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/35bef41c-ecfe-11e5-bb79-2303682345c8.

  • Reinhardt, U. (2006). The Pricing of U.S. Hospital Services: Chaos Behind a Veil of Secrecy. Health Affairs, 57–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricardo, D. (1817). On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. London: John Murray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodrik, D. (1998). Why Do More Open Economies Have Bigger Governments? Journal of Political Economy, 106(5), 997–1032.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J., Schmidt-Traub, G., Kroll, C., Lafortune, G., & Fuller, G. (2018). SDG Index and Dashboards Report 2018. New York: Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salverda, W. (2015). EU Policy Making and Growing Inequalities. DG ECFIN Discussion Paper 008, 2015; Fellowship Initiative 2014–2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawhill, I. (2018). The Forgotten Americans: An Economic Agenda for a Divided Nation. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Squires, D., & Anderson, C. (2015). U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective: Spending, Use of Services, Prices, and Health in 13 Countries. New York: Commonwealth Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Temin, P. (2017). The Vanishing Middle Class. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Washington Post. (2019). Trump Claims Database, Fact Checker. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?utm_term=.9a76e855ffcd.

  • Welfens, P. J. J. (2002). Interneteconomics.net. Heidelberg and Berlin: Springer

  • Welfens, P. J. J. (2016, March 30). British Referendum Pains and the EU Implications of BREXIT. AICGS Foreign Policy. Retrieved from https://www.aicgs.org/2016/03/british-referendum-pains-and-the-eu-implications-of-brexit/.

  • Welfens, P. J. J. (2017b). An Accidental BREXIT. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Welfens, P. J. J. (2017c). Foreign Financial Deregulation Under Flexible and Fixed Exchange Rates: A New Trilemma. EIIW Discussion Paper No. 238, www.eiiw.eu.

  • Welfens, P. J. J., & Udalov, V. (2018). International Inequality Dynamics: Issues and Evidence of a Redistribution Kuznets Curve. EIIW Discussion Paper No. 250, www.eiiw.eu.

  • Wolff, E. N., Zacharias, A., Masterson, T., Eren, S., Sharpe, A., & Hazell, H. (2012, January). A Comparison of Inequality and Living Standards in Canada and the United States Using an Expanded Measure of Economic Well-Being. Working Paper No. 703, Levi Economics Institute of Bard College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yellen, J. L. (2014). Perspectives on Inequality and Opportunity from the Survey of Consumer Finances. Remarks Presented at the Conference on Economic Opportunity and Inequality, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Boston, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann, C. (2016, December 1). The Puzzle of Real Median Household Income, St. Louis Federal Reserve. FRED Blog. Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2016/12/the-puzzle-of-real-median-household-income/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Institute for International Economic Relations (EIIW), University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany

    Paul J. J. Welfens

Authors
  1. Paul J. J. Welfens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Welfens, P.J.J. (2019). Inequality, US Survey Results and Economic Analysis: The Case for Structural Trumpism. In: The Global Trump. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21784-6_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21784-6_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21783-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21784-6

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation