The Inequality Podcast

Steven and Geoff talk to Nathan Wilmers, the Sarofim Family Career Development Associate Professor and an Associate Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, about the role that inequality plays in the ever-evolving labor market. Nathan covers a wide gamut of topics, including the changing trends in wage inequality, declining union participation, the challenges of internal promotion, and the cyclical relationship between unequal income distribution and the luxury goods market. He also offers his thoughts on how these trends might look into the future, as well as what things can be done to ensure a healthy wage growth, especially for those at the bottom of the distribution. Our Inequality in Perspective segment take a deep dive into recent developments in the gig economy from both a personal and academic lens. Special thanks to Dmitri Koustas, Associate Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, for his contributions to the segment.

Links:

The MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/institute-work-and-employment-research/about-iwer

“The Evolution of Platform Gig Work, 2012-2021: Interactive Research Brief (Becker-Friedman Institute): https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/research-summary/interactive-research-brief-the-evolution-of-platform-gig-work-2012-2021/

“The Evolution of Platform Gig Work, 2012-2021: Working Paper (Becker-Friedman Institute): https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/BFI_WP_2023-69.pdf

“Taking a Page from Inclusive Capitalism, the US Gig Economy is Here to Stay” (Forbes): https://www.forbes.com/sites/nigelwilson/2023/02/08/taking-a-page-from-inclusive-capitalism-the-us-gig-economy-is-here-to-stay/?sh=3dfdbee925f0

We talk to Shelly Lundberg, the Leonard Broom Professor of Demography and Associate

Director of the Broom Center for Demography at the University of California, Santa

Barbara, about the long-embedded gender gaps in many professional fields, including

her own—economics. She guides us through the role that anti-discrimination

legislation has played in correcting these disparities, and addresses the

flawed ways that economists have traditionally taught and measured them. Our

Inequality in Perspective segment considers the challenges faced by Marthe

Gautier, the female French scientist believed to be the first person to discover

an extra chromosome in those with Down’s Syndrome, in having her contribution

to research duly recognized.

The Broom Center for Demography: https://broomcenter.ucsb.edu/

“After More than 50 Years, a Dispute Over Down Syndrome

Discovery” (Science): https://www.science.org/content/article/after-more-50-years-dispute-over-down-syndrome-discovery

“Down Syndrome Discover Dispute Resurfaces in France” (Nature): https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2014.14690

Steven sits down with Luis Bettencourt to discuss what cities can teach us about inequality. Luis Bettencourt is a Professor of Ecology and Evolution and the Inaugural Director of the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation at the University of Chicago as well as an External Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute. With research interests spanning ecology, sociology, and physics, Luis extends insights from these disciplines to the study of inequality in urban landscapes to understand growth, opportunity, and mobility throughout the cities of the world and their capacity for social progress. Our Inequality in Perspective segment tells the story of a man navigating new trials while living in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.

The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation: https://miurban.uchicago.edu/

The Million Neighborhoods Initiative: https://millionneighborhoods.org/#2/8.84/17.54

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAVELAS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:

"Brazil’s Favelas Organize to Fight COVID-19" (United Nations): https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/brazil%E2%80%99s-favelas-organize-fight-covid-19

"Brazil’s Favelas Offer Lessons in Building Trust" (The New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/09/opinion/brazil-favelas-pandemic-trust.html

"Covid-19 and the Brazilian Reality: The Role of Favelas in Combating the Pandemic" (Frontiers in Sociology): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8022550/

In this bonus episode, Sam Bowles dives deep into the ancient origins of inequality, Marxian economic theory, the evolution of the economics curriculum, and The Moral Economy.

Link to our first episode with Sam Bowles: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonus-episode-four-questions-for-sam-bowles/id1693218758?i=1000617556338

The CORE Curriculum Website: https://www.core-econ.org/

The Moral Economy by Sam Bowles: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300230512/the-moral-economy/

In recognition of Juneteenth, we invite you to learn more about this important holiday.

From the HISTORY Channel: https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth

From the New York Times: https://archive.ph/ujbjS

In our first episode of The Inequality Podcast, we talk to legendary economist Sam Bowles, Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Arthur Spiegel Research Professor at the Sante Fe Institute, and Affiliated Scholar at the University of Siena in Italy. Steven and Sam cover a scholarly gamut, including Sam’s intellectual upbringing, his transformative encounter with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his thoughts on equality of voice in capitalist structures, and the ethical courage of pursuing questions rather than answers. For our Inequality in Perspective segment, we look at Pullman, the ill-fated company town located on Chicago’s far south side.

Sam Bowles book, "Democracy and Capitalism": https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/samuel-bowles/democracy-and-capitalism/9780465016013/?lens=basic-books

LINKS TO INFORMATION ABOUT PULLMAN

Dr. Ely’s Article for Harper’s Monthly: https://archive.org/details/8502ElyPullmanasocialstudy/page/n5/mode/2up

Pullman National Historical website: https://www.nps.gov/pull/index.htm

Smithsonian Magazine Article about George Pullman: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/rise-fall-sleeping-car-king-180971240/

In recognition of Juneteenth, we invite you to learn more about this important holiday.

From the HISTORY Channel: https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth

From the New York Times: https://archive.ph/ujbjS