The Origins of Inequality

This book presents a unified approach to the problem of inequality, combining results from a variety of research fields - the human life cycle, group dynamics, networks, markets, and economic geography. Its main message is that inequality emerges as the natural result of mechanisms operating both in individual human development and in social interaction. It posits that inequality is not an anomalous deviation from a naturally egalitarian social structure; quite to the contrary, inequality is to be expected as part of the human condition. The author states that the growth of inequality, on the other hand, is not a natural law - the level and character of inequality can be affected by collective decisions. This perspective on human inequality has potentially far-reaching consequences both for the political philosophy of inequality and for public policy-making.

This book is of interest to a wide interdisciplinary social science readership, including public policy, decision sciences, economic geography, and life course studies.   

Per Molander holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics (control theory) but has spent most of his professional life at the interface between the social sciences and public policy-making. He has published around 100 articles, reports and books, among which Turning Sweden Around (MIT Press); Institutions, Politics and Fiscal Policy (Kluwer); Fiscal Federalism in Unitary States (Kluwer); Alternatives for Welfare Policy (Cambridge University Press) (all these co-authored), and The Anatomy of Inequality (Melville House/ Random House). He was the main architect of the Swedish central government budget reform of the 1990s and created the Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate, where he served as the director general between 2009 and 2015. He chaired the Public Commission on Equality that delivered its report in 2020. He has also worked as an adviser to the IMF, the World Bank, and the OECD. He has received several literary prizes, among which is the Essay Prize from the Swedish Academy. Dr. Molander is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.