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First published in 1975, Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff, by famed economist Arthur Okun, has been continuously in print for nearly four decades. The book owes it enduring appeal to Okun's skill in discussing the tensions between the political principles of democracy and the economic principles of capitalism. At its heart is the question: To what extent should government (and society)... More

First published in 1975, Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff, by famed economist Arthur Okun, has been continuously in print for nearly four decades. The book owes it enduring appeal to Okun's skill in discussing the tensions between the political principles of democracy and the economic principles of capitalism. At its heart is the question: To what extent should government (and society) pursue economic equality?

In this reissue in the Brookings Classics series, Larry Summers provides an introduction that reflects on Okun's work, and suggests framing for modern readers. Given contemporary conversations about the top one percent and the shrinking middle class, Equality and Efficiency, is only growing in its importance as a clear introduction to one of the central political and economic issues of the last century, and in all likelihood-the century to come.

This reissue is a Brookings Classic, a series of republished books for readers to revisit or discover previous, notable works by the Brookings Institution Press.