Nobel laureate and Princeton Emeritus Angus Deaton questioned whether it would be better to be poor in Bangladesh or in parts of America.
The renowned economist posed the question in a keynote speech at a conference held by the National Association of Business Economics of America, while discussing the decreasing inequality between countries and increasing inequality within them.
“I’ve been struggling with it,” Deaton told Annie Lowrey of The Atlantic, when she asked if he truly believed it would be better to be poor in Bangladesh rather than America.
Prompted by Lowrey as to whether access to hospitals, education and other infrastructure made life for poverty stricken Americans easier, Deaton said: “A lot of these programmes have been turned into block grants, like [the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or welfare, programme], and it’s very hard for people to get them. And life expectancy in much of Appalachia is below life expectancy in Bangladesh.”
“If you had to choose between living in a poor village in India and living in the Mississippi Delta or in a suburb of Milwaukee in a trailer park, I’m not sure who would have the better life. That’s the point I’ve been pushing,” Deaton added.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
