Stuck in the Middle: Is Fiscal Policy Failing the Middle Class?

Antonio Estache · Danny Leipziger

Oct 2009 · Rowman & Littlefield

About this ebook

Stuck in the Middle examines both economic and social public policy initiatives in its assertion that enhancing the welfare of people in developed and developing nations requires an explicit focus on the middle class.

Contents

Foreword

1. Overview: Fiscal Policy, Distribution, and the Middle Class

2. Stylized Facts on the Middle Class and the Development Process

3. The Future of Global Income Inequality

4. The Scope and Limits of Subsidies

5. Policies for Lower Global Wealth Inequality

6. Can Happiness Research Help Fiscal Policy?

7. The Politics of Effective and Sustainable Redistribution

About the author

Antonio Estache hold the Bernard Van Ommeslaghe chair at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He previously worked for twenty-five years at the World Bank.Danny Leipziger is a vice president at the World Bank and a prolific author and frequent commentator on development issues.