Inequality and Economic Stratification: Reflections on Bromley, Piketty, and Obeng-Odoom

Abstract The rise of economic inequality is a major global problem, one that economists have an important role in explaining and addressing through policy. Despite increased availability of data, our theoretical understanding of the dynamics of inequality, its persistence, and policies to address this problem remain in their infancy. The new subfield of stratification economics focuses on intergroup inequality by race and gender and offers a useful lens through which to explore the complexity of interacting systems of inequality. This article evaluates three recently published books on inequality through that lens.