Are productivity increases contributing to social inequality?, asks Jim Heskett. At what point does inequality become a threat to democracy? What do YOU think?
Inequality seemed to have been the byword of the year for 2013. Studies documented increases in the gap (or in a few studies, the opposite view) between rich and poor. Headlines, at least in the United States, typically focused on the share of wealth and income accumulated by the top .1 percent or 1 percent of the population. Attention also focused on the fact that people in the bottom 20 percent were not just in low-paying jobs. Unusually large numbers that wanted jobs had none and hadn't had paying work for months.
This article was provided with permission from <a href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/" target="_blank">Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.</a>