The rise in income inequality remains one of the most important and universal challenges for politicians, academics, and societies around the world.
Growing inequality is a defining feature of economic life in developed and democratic countries, particularly those of Anglo-American societies. This conference will bring together academics, policy professionals, journalists and politicians to examine the comparative causes and effects of inequality through Anglo-American societies.
The study of inequality reveals a complex mix of driving forces, including globalization, technological change, and the dynamics of a capitalist economy. Its social, economic and political effects include but are not limited to: the disappearance of the middle class, political polarization, labour strife and civil unrest, and limited access to health care and education.
Inequality’s effects in Anglo-American democracies, some of the world’s largest and most open economies, warrant further study. The erosion of the middle class, for example, places immense strain on the economic and social prosperity of the world’s only remaining super power, the United States, and many of its key allies. Furthermore, the impacts are not isolated; distress felt in the Anglo-American economies as a result of growing income inequality reverberates around the world through trade and investment flows.
The persistence of inequality – whether in politics or markets – demands high prioritization from multiple stakeholders, including but not limited to the private sector, governments and policymakers. Persistent inequality demands responses from governments, corporations, and civil society actors.
To further conversations on income inequality, we invite you to attend an interdisciplinary conference featuring academics, industry professionals, and public officials from the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. The University of Toronto, in partnership with the Centre for the Study of the United States, is an ideal venue for a conference to bring together experts and practitioners to examine inequality’s effects on Anglo-American welfare. The conference is dedicated to understanding the impacts and causes of income inequality from inter-disciplinary backgrounds in addition to strategizing policy reform moving forward.