Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Political Power and Economic Inequality: A Comparative Policy Approach (Who Did It First?)

Political Power and Economic Inequality offers a balanced comparative analysis of worldwide income inequality. Charles F. Andrain explores the ways that government institutions, political parties, private corporations, labor unions, and protest movements influence public programs. How do these organizations mobilize resources so that their preferences become government decisions? What impact do these policies have on different geographic regions, occupations, ethnic-religious groups, and genders? Drawing on comprehensive worldwide data, the author highlights the similarities and differences among nations. By focusing on global trends, he explains the connections that link domestic conditions with foreign trade, overseas investment, labor migration, and communications media. Andrain argues that the globalization of income inequality explains contemporary political life in the United States as well as in other parts of the world. To fully understand global income distribution, we need to grasp how historical changes affect these trends, why social movements stage protests against the growing income gap, and how a comparative approach best explains income differences. Andrain's tightly written interdisciplinary study stresses the impact of this problem on political life and social change in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The comparative evidence probes the full dynamics of this controversial issue and its consequences for society as a whole. Review Andrain examines aspects of and explanations for economic inequality, something that has increased most everywhere since the 1970s, in various countries of the world. Economic inequality is related to differing public policies and ultimately differences in terms of political institutions; ideological tilts of parties; and the strength of business, organized labour, and social groups. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on political science, economics, and sociology. A strong sympathy for Keynes and Keynesianism as opposed to neoliberalism runs throughout it. The regional foci are on Western industrial countries, postcommunist countries, China, East Asian developmental states, India, and selected Latin American countries. Topics include the effects of differing political systems, global interdependence, political mobilization, and the role of social scientists in the policy process. There are useful comparisons between neighboring countries, such as Chile and Uruguay. . . .[S]tarting each chapter with a discussion of a different novelist's take on inequality is interesting. The references are quite comprehensive. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers/faculty.--CHOICE This is a book that investigates the effects of public policies on inequality in developed and developing countries by offering a clear-cut argument. . . .This well-written book . . . [is] enriched by references to classic novels pertaining to inequality and poverty. . . .[The book] does a good job of communicating effectively with the reader. Indeed, it is especially innovative in its use of novels and the characters in them to illustrate its arguments. It highlights two dominant perspectives in the political economy literature and uses a comparative approach, which makes the book good reading for undergraduate public policy courses.--Political Science Quarterly About the Author Charles F. Andrain is professor emeritus of political science at San Diego State University.