Inequality

Redistribution, Inequality, and Growth

IMF study finds inequality is damaging to economic growth
International Monetary Fund paper dismisses rightwing argument that redistributing incomes is self-defeating

The study appears to debunk a tenet of conservative economic ideology — that taxing the rich to give to the poor is bad for the economy.

In the most controversial finding, the study concludes that redistributing wealth, largely through taxation, does not significantly impact growth unless the intervention is extreme.

In fact, because redistributing wealth through taxation has the positive impact of reducing inequality, the overall affect on the economy is to boost growth, the researchers conclude.


While in Canada ...

Stephen Harper's Conservatives have boasted that tax cuts, particularly deep reductions in corporate taxation, are at least partly responsible for why the Canadian economy outperformed other G7 countries both during and after the 2008-09 recession.