Inequality in the 21st Century

The London School of Economics & Political Science

London, UK

July 02 - 04, 2015

Since the mid- 2000s, economists, in both academia and development multilaterals, have drawn increasing attention to the Middle-Income (MI) Trap, especially in Southeast Asia and Latin America.  These writings have been valuable in in identifying and defining the trap, in exploring its proximate sources (especially productivity slowdowns), in recommending policy remedies (such as improvements in human capital), and in highlighting the importance of broad political coalitions required to implement such remedies.  However, existing analyses do not explain precisely why this is a trap.  More specifically, there have been very few attempts to analyze much less theorize the political origins of the trap.  This panel will address this gap from a comparative perspective.    The panel will consist of papers by Rick Doner (Emory) and Ben Schneider (MIT) - "Why Is It a Trap: Political Economy of the MIddle-Income Trap;"  by Alberto Fuentes (Georgia Tech) and Seth Pitkin (UC Irvine) - "Spurred to Upgrade: A Review of Triggers of Change in the Global Value Chain Literature;" by Eva Paus (Mt. Hollyoke) -“Escaping from the Middle Income Trap: Does Nationality Matter for Innovation in Latin America?;”   and by Stephan  Panther (Europa-Universitat Flensburg) - “Elite Preferences, Policy Influence and the Middle-Income Trap.”