10 must-read economics stories of the week

A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion.

1. Facts and figures. Low growth and rising inequality are key features of the global economy. Christine Lagarde suggests what needs to be done. (iMFdirect)

2. Median household income has lagged behind GDP per capita growth in most OECD countries, for various reasons. Inequality is only one of those. (World Economic Forum)

3. Monetary policy is out of ammo and low interest rates fail to stimulate growth, is the mantra these days. But a new report argues that central banks do have a number of tools at their disposal to boost growth, including negative interest rates and quantitative easing. (Vox EU)

4. Robert Schiller questions societies’ preparedness for possibly skyrocketing levels of inequality in the future. (The New York Times)

5. Profits are plummeting while stocks are rising. What’s going on? (Fortune)

6. Low growth and high inequality have striking political consequences, threatening the consensus in favour of globalization and regional integration. (Bloomberg View)

7. Growing inequality and slowing productivity growth makes democracy intolerant and capitalism illegitimate, writes Martin Wolf. (Financial Times)

8. How will robotics affect growth and inequality? (Finance & Development)

9. Luck is part and parcel of economic success. What are the implications for markets and policy? (Bloomberg)

10. A new paper in the American Economic Review proposes an alternative way to measure economic welfare, taking into account consumption, leisure, and life expectancy, among others. (Washington Center for Equitable Growth)