DONDENA Seminar - Daniel Waldenström

Using cutting-edge research and new data, this book shows that the Western world has experienced a massive rise in the size of the middle class over the 20th century and a great equalization of wealth. Unfettered capitalism, it seems, doesn’t have to lead to boundless inequality. The key to progress was political and institutional change that enabled citizens to become educated, better paid, and to amass wealth through housing and pension savings. The book argues for tax and social policies that raise the wealth of people in the bottom and middle rather than cutting wealth of entrepreneurs at the top. 

Daniel Waldenström is a professor at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics, specializing in economic inequality, taxation, and economic history. He has previously held professorships at the Paris School of Economics, Uppsala University, and UCLA. In addition to his academic work, Waldenström advises government agencies, the OECD, and the European Commission. He is also a frequent commentator in European and global media.