Predistribution versus Redistribution
By: Prof. Ravi Kanbur, Cornell University
Date & time: Monday 01, July 2024 - 17:00-18:00 [Luxembourg Local Time]
Place: Conference room, First floor, Maison des Sciences Humaines (MSH), 11, porte des Sciences, L-4366 Esch-Belval, Luxembourg
Over the past quarter century there has been a shift in the analytical and policy discourse, away from redistribution of market incomes through tax-transfer regimes and towards “predistribution” of pre-market productivities through education and human capital interventions. There are three strands of the arguments underlying this shift: the technical and economic problems associated with redistribution, the moral superiority of equalizing opportunities rather than outcomes, and the greater acceptability of predistribution in the political realm. Each of these arguments warrants closer examination and upon scrutiny is not as strong as it appears in the current discourse. The drift away from redistribution should be assessed carefully by those who wish to address rising inequalities.