Editorial Conference: Living in a High-Inequality Regime

After trending upward for more than 30 years, high economic inequality increasingly appears to be a fixed aspect of contemporary life in the U.S. Although there is a growing literature on how inequality has become so entrenched, much less is known about how people have adjusted to living with this level of inequality. David Grusky and Alair MacLean are editing a volume, entitled Living in a High-Inequality Regime, to address just this issue – how has high inequality impacted the everyday lives of Americans and fundamental institutions of American social life? This new volume will use both primary research and reviews of the literature to examine the effects of inequality now that there has been sufficient time for its full effects to be measured. The authors plan to examine how long-term inequality has changed the rules by which people participate in social institutions, the way rewards are allocated in the labor market, and our attitudes and political viewpoints.