Looking at inequality doesn’t tell us anything substantial about prosperity in a given country. Is inequality the real problem, or is it poverty?
In the pantheon of economic thought, Adam Smith stands as a colossus, a philosopher whose seminal work, The Wealth of Nations, fundamentally shaped our understanding of free markets and the power of individual self-interest to fuel societal progress. But what would he write about today’s issues?
Economic competition in functioning market economies it the best surefire way to reduce global poverty. That, and letting people leave poor countries for rich ones.
Why did poverty decrease so much over the past 200 years, and especially over the past 30 years? Let’s look at one key example; then we’ll zoom out to the broader research.