Inequality and Growth: Charles Lane Tells It Like It Isn't

Charles Lane tells Washington Post readers that:

"Western Europe's recent history suggests that flat income distribution accompanies flat economic growth. Which European country recorded the biggest decrease in inequality between 1985 and 2008? That would be Greece."

An argument based on a sample of one may fit the standards of the Washington Post, but it is not the sort of thing that normal people would find compelling. If we look the IMF's data on per capita GDP growth since 1980 one would ...