The final book from a towering pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality--a critically important examination of poverty around the world

In this, his final book, economist Anthony Atkinson, one of the world's great social scientists and a pioneer in the study of poverty and inequality, offers an inspiring analysis of a central question: What is poverty and how much of it is there around the globe? The persistence of poverty--in rich and poor countries alike--is one of the most serious problems facing humanity. Better measurement of poverty is essential for raising awareness, motivating action, designing good policy, gauging progress, and holding political leaders accountable for meeting targets. To help make this possible, Atkinson provides a critically important examination of how poverty is--and should be--measured.

Bringing together evidence about the nature and extent of poverty across the world and including case studies of sixty countries, Atkinson addresses both financial poverty and other indicators of deprivation. He starts from first principles about the meaning of poverty, translates these into concrete measures, and analyzes the data to which the measures can be applied. Crucially, he integrates international organizations' measurements of poverty with countries' own national analyses.

Atkinson died before he was able to complete the book, but at his request it was edited for publication by two of his colleagues, John Micklewright and Andrea Brandolini. In addition, Fran�ois Bourguignon and Nicholas Stern provide afterwords that address key issues from the unfinished chapters: how poverty relates to growth, inequality, and climate change.

The result is an essential contribution to efforts to alleviate poverty around the world.

Professor Sir Tony Atkinson was an academic economist particularly concerned with issues of social justice and the design of public policy. He has been writing on economics since the 1960s, when his first book was on poverty in Britain and his second on the unequal distribution of wealth. Together with Joe Stiglitz he wrote Lectures in Public Economics. 

His late work focused on top incomes, contributing to the World Wealth and Income Database, and on monitoring rising inequality across the world. 

Source: tony-atkinson.com

The Faculty of Economics is deeply saddened by the death of Tony Atkinson, who passed away on 1 January 2017 at the age of 72. He began his academic career as Fellow of St. John's College, 1967-71, and returned to Cambridge in 1992 as Professor of Political Economy and Fellow of Churchill College before he became Warden of Nuffield College, University of Oxford, in 1994. 

Tony Atkinson pioneered the study of the economics of income distribution and the measurement of poverty and inequality. The Atkinson index is named after him. Throughout his life, he was actively engaged with policymaking and with finding solutions to alleviate poverty and inequality.

Source: University of Cambridge