Battlers and Billionaires: The Updated Story of Inequality in Australia

Unpacking inequality in Australia by renowned economist and MP Andrew Leigh

Is Australia fair enough? And why does inequality matter anyway?

From egalitarian beginnings, Australian inequality rose through the nineteenth century. Then we became more equal again, with inequality falling markedly from the 1920s to the 1970s. Now, inequality is returning to the heights of the 1820s. The housing and cost-of-living crises we face are some of the defining issues of our time.

In Battlers and Billionaires, Andrew Leigh shows that while inequality can fuel growth, it also poses dangers to society. Too much inequality risks cleaving us into two Australias, with little contact between the haves and the have-nots. And the further apart the rungs on the ladder of opportunity, the harder it is for a kid born into poverty to enter the middle class.

About the author:

Andrew Leigh is the federal Member for Fenner. Before being elected in 2010, he was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. 

Product details: 

Author: Andrew Leigh 

Publisher: Black Inc

Dimensions: 198 x 128 mm 

Pages: 240

Format: Paperback

Publication date: 1 October 2024

ISBN: 9781760645243