A desigualdade na história do pensamento económico

Abstract

Inequality in income distribution is a theme which has been much debated recently, especially after the economic crisis started in 2007-2008, which is often connected to an increase in inequality. As economic theory evolved, there was a relative neglect of the theme of distribution. For the classics the distribution of the surplus was a fundamental theme, with impact not only on individual well-being, but also on economic and social sustainability. With the increasing mathematization of economics, distribution is studied as a technical question. Furthermore, there has been a paradigm shift, in which economics became no longer the science which studies the production and distribution of the surplus, but rather a science centered on scarcity. In this context, in which distribution is neglected from the point of view of economic theory, the return of the theme of inequality to economic discussion focuses essentially on its empirical measurement, through various synthetic indexes that have been developed. However, authors like Sraffa and Sen are seen as the originators of a revival of classical political economy, where distribution is an essential theme. Besides, Sen considers a multidimensional approach to inequality, considering that the latter cannot be measured only in terms of income, but also in terms of capabilities.

Date of Award	21 Jun 2016
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Martins (Supervisor)