Growth, equality, and history

Complex policy issues deserve frequent reassessment, and the relationship between economic growth and equality is undeniably complex. Policymakers who care about trade-offs between the two goals continue to press the scientific limits of empirical economics. It takes an enormous sample of long-term national experiences to approximate the data base necessary to move debate from allegation to evidence. Fortunately, the sample continues to expand. Since the 1950s dozens of countries have produced evidence on income distribution and growth, and the records of some currently developed countries have been extended back into the 17th century. This article assesses the empirical harvest. Most of our inferences, however, are based on American and British history.