Inequality, opportunities, and development
Feb 2022
How can we reduce inequality?
Inequality, opportunities, and development is a subject area that encompasses numerous current social issues. How can we reduce inequality? What are the causes of social and economic inequality? How can we create opportunities for women in the labor market? What measures help to combat inequality in developing countries? Answers to these and other important questions are provided by numerous experts in lectures, interviews, and papers made possible by the UBS Center.
Inequality, opportunities, and development is a subject area that encompasses numerous current social issues. How can we reduce inequality? What are the causes of social and economic inequality? How can we create opportunities for women in the labor market? What measures help to combat inequality in developing countries? Answers to these and other important questions are provided by numerous experts in lectures, interviews, and papers made possible by the UBS Center.
Quotes
Capitalism generates inequality, it is in its genes. We cannot have the benefits without risking the cost. Thus, we must regulate it.
UBS Center Forum, 11.11.2020
Nobel Laureate Sir Angus Deaton
A tax on wealth accrual, on top of a progressive labor income tax, is in general optimal – even in the medium to long run.
UBS Center Public Paper No 9
Florian Scheuer
100 percent of the talent pool must be used!
UBS Center Opinion, 3.12.2018
Iris Bohnet
If you try to listen, the world will surprise you.
UBS Center Opinion, 21.9.2017
Esther Duflo
Pay-at-harvest premiums increase demand for crop insurance among sugarcane farmers in Kenya from 5% to 72%.
UBS Center Policy Brief No 2/19
Lorenzo Casaburi
There is increasing demand for social skills in cognitive occupations, from doctors to software engineers; a good job involves performing tasks that require greater creativity, analysis and problem-solving skills than others.
UBS Center Policy Brief No 1/18
Nir Jaimovich
Publications
The UBS Center offers two publication series. The Public Paper series makes research on topics of key social relevance available to a broader audience in a simplified, compact, and highly readable format. The Policy Brief series can give governments and businesses the rigorous and clear insights necessary for informed debates and decisions. They are a condensed and non-technical version of some of our top research papers.
Taxing the superrich
Over the past decades, many developed countries have experienced considerable increases in income and wealth inequality, led by an extraordinary concentration among the very richest swath of households. This has focused policy attention on the superrich. Public paper No.9 by Florian Scheuer provides an overview of the tax situation the superrich currently face and evaluates various reform proposals.
The right time for insurance – How to get Kenyan farmers to protect against crop failure
A bad harvest can have severe consequences for farmers, especially in developing countries. But despite the significant advantages of agricultural insurance as a way to alleviate this risk, only a small percentage of farmers insure their crops. Policy brief No.2/19 by Lorenzo Casaburi outlines a simple but effective solution identified and tested by development economists, which has increased the adoption of crop insurance to over 70% of sugarcane farmers in Kenya. The key lies in shifting the time at which payment of premiums is required: from before the crop is harvested to afterwards.
The end of men – Growing demand for women’s social skills in high-paying jobs
Demand for high-skilled workers who perform cognitive tasks has increased dramatically in the United States over the past four decades, with the biggest change between 1980 and 2000. Policy brief No.1/18 by Nir Jaimovich shows that the increase in demand was not experienced equally by both genders: despite rapid growth in employment in high-paying occupations, the probability that a college-educated man was employed in such a job fell, while the prospects for college-educated women improved.
The UBS Center offers two publication series. The Public Paper series makes research on topics of key social relevance available to a broader audience in a simplified, compact, and highly readable format. The Policy Brief series can give governments and businesses the rigorous and clear insights necessary for informed debates and decisions. They are a condensed and non-technical version of some of our top research papers.
Taxing the superrich
Over the past decades, many developed countries have experienced considerable increases in income and wealth inequality, led by an extraordinary concentration among the very richest swath of households. This has focused policy attention on the superrich. Public paper No.9 by Florian Scheuer provides an overview of the tax situation the superrich currently face and evaluates various reform proposals.
Event highlights
The Center’s events come in different formats, including two annual conferences with leading representatives from the academic, private, and public sectors debating a key contemporary economic issue. The Opinion events feature top representatives from academia to voice their views in public speeches. The Center hosted several events on the topic of inequality, opportunities, and development in the past 10 years.
Good economics for hard times – Opinion 2022
How can we alleviate inequality and poverty? This is the core question that Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have been addressing for years and the motivation behind their extensive research. Equipped with a broad experience in the field of development economics and the latest scientific findings, they dare to tackle the big questions of our time and are not afraid to bring up uncomfortable topics. Once again, we had the pleasure of welcoming them as guests at the UBS Center Opinion Event Series.
Learn more
Rethinking inequalities – Forum for Economic Dialogue 2020
In this event series, which took place online due to the Corona pandemic, we focused on different aspects of inequality – a topic that has become even more important in light of the global pandemic and its devastating consequences, which has hit many of the most vulnerable people in the world particularly hard. Experts such as Janet Currie, David Dorn, Branko Milanovic, Florian Scheuer and Nobel laureate Sir Angus Deaton analyzed the determinants and implications of economic and social inequalities and discussed possible solutions on how to address these issues.
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How to design equal opportunities – Opinion 2018
The event, entitled “Utopie Gleichstellung? Vom Wunschdenken zur Realität” (Utopia equal opportunities? From wishful thinking to reality), started with a keynote by Iris Bohnet. Unlike many other discussions on gender equality, the question was not if equality can be achieved, but how. The distinguished speakers represented academia, politics, and the business sector, and came with a wealth of experience and knowledge on the gender topic.
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Innovation and inequalities – Inaugural lecture 2017
UBS Foundation Professor David Hémous is an economist of innovation and entrepreneurship. His work is centered around Economic Growth, International Trade and Environmental Economics. In his inaugural lecture, Professor Hémous concluded with his thoughts on the important question if future technologies like artificial intelligence will automate some of the high skill tasks. The lecture took place in the main auditorium of the University of Zurich and was open to the public.
Poor Economics – Opinion 2017
They have dedicated themselves to reduce poverty around the globe. Esther Duflo and Abhijit V. Banerjee visited the University of Zurich to share the lessons they learned after publishing Poor Economics. In 2019, they were awarded the Nobel prize along with their colleague Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
Learn more
The Center’s events come in different formats, including two annual conferences with leading representatives from the academic, private, and public sectors debating a key contemporary economic issue. The Opinion events feature top representatives from academia to voice their views in public speeches. The Center hosted several events on the topic of inequality, opportunities, and development in the past 10 years.
Good economics for hard times – Opinion 2022
How can we alleviate inequality and poverty? This is the core question that Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have been addressing for years and the motivation behind their extensive research. Equipped with a broad experience in the field of development economics and the latest scientific findings, they dare to tackle the big questions of our time and are not afraid to bring up uncomfortable topics. Once again, we had the pleasure of welcoming them as guests at the UBS Center Opinion Event Series.
In the media
«Für viele Autofahrer fühlt sich eine Benzinsteuer wie eine unfaire Bürde an» Interview mit Esther Duflo Tagesanzeiger vom 28.6.2022 lesen
«Es gibt nun mal keine Formel, wie man ein Land wohlhabend macht» Interview mit Esther Duflo NZZ vom 22.6.2022 lesen
Sir Angus Deaton about Inequality (in German) NZZ am Sonntag Interview mit Angus Deaton 21.11.2020 lesen
Sir Angus Deaton about Inequality (English translation) NZZ am Sonntag Interview with Angus Deaton 21.11.2020 read
«Die Erbschaftsteuer müsste viel beliebter sein» Die Zeit Interview mit Florian Scheuer 9.11.2020 lesen
Iris Bohnet über Lohngleichheit NZZ am Sonntag Interview mit Iris Bohnet 15.12.2018 lesen
Männer sind kaum gefragt NZZ am Sonntag 3.11.2018 lesen
The End of Men - Interview with Henry Siu VoxEU 14.12.2018 listen