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The Asset Economy

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( 111 ratings, 24 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Asset Economy examines the rising inequality defining our era, focusing on how property inflation has made asset ownership a greater determinant of class than employment. Lisa Adkins, Melinda Cooper, and Martijn Konings analyse the economic shifts underpinning social transformations in Anglo-capitalist societies, exploring topics such as wealth inequality, urban property inflation, fiscal and monetary policy changes, and the generational challenges faced by millennials. The authors argue that asset-supporting policies create a growing divide between public expectations and institutional priorities, leading to heightened social and political volatility.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for academics, students, and readers interested in economic inequality, social class, and contemporary policy debates in Anglo-capitalist countries.

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"How assets dictate the new class system"--

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Rising inequality is the defining feature of our age. With the lion’s share of wealth growth going to the top, for a growing percentage of society a middle-class existence is out of reach. What exactly are the economic shifts that have driven the social transformations taking place in Anglo-capitalist societies?

In this timely book, The Asset Economy, Lisa Adkins, Melinda Cooper and Martijn Konings argue that the rise of the asset economy has produced a new logic of inequality. Several decades of property inflation have seen asset ownership overshadow employment as a determinant of class position. Exploring the impact of generational dynamics in this new class landscape, the book advances an original perspective on a range of phenomena that are widely debated but poorly understood – including the growth of wealth inequalities and precarity, the dynamics of urban property inflation, changes in fiscal and monetary policy, and the predicament of the “millennial” generation.

Despite widespread awareness of the harmful effects of Quantitative Easing and similar asset-supporting measures, we appear to have entered an era of policy “lock-in” that is responsible for a growing disconnect between popular expectations and institutional priorities. The resulting polarization underlies many of the volatile dynamics and rapidly shifting alliances that dominate today’s headlines.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its timely and persuasive analysis, the book is lauded by scholars like Herman Mark Schwartz as essential for understanding class conflict and housing market dynamics. Mike Savage of the London School of Economics highlights it as an outstanding update to class and inequality studies for the 21st century. Reviews commend The Asset Economy for setting the agenda for future research on socio-economic reproduction and providing important insights into contemporary inequality and exploitation, with a readable and engaging style.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509543465

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 September 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 137.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 181g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Lisa Adkins is Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney.
Melinda Cooper is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney.
Martijn Konings is Professor of Political Economy and Social Theory at the University of Sydney.

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