Research Professor
CUNY Graduate Center
Branko Milanovic obtained his Ph.D. in economics (1987) from the University of Belgrade with a dissertation on income inequality in Yugoslavia. He served as lead economist in the World Bank’s Research Department for almost 20 years, leaving to write his book on global income inequality, Worlds Apart (2005). He was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington (2003-2005) and has held teaching appointments at the University of Maryland (2007-2013) and at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (1997- 2007). He was a visiting scholar at All Souls College in Oxford, and Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (2010-11).
Professor Milanovic’s main area of work is income inequality, in individual countries and globally, including in preindustrial societies. He has published articles in Economic Journal, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Development Economics, and Journal of Political Philosophy, among others. His book The Haves and the Have-nots (2011) was selected by The Globalist as the 2011 Book of the Year. Global Inequality (2016) was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the best political book of 2016 and the Hans Matthöfer Prize in 2018, and was translated into 16 languages. It addresses economic and political effects of globalization and introduces the concept of successive “Kuznets waves” of inequality. In March 2018, Milanovic was awarded (jointly with Mariana Mazzucato) the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Knowledge. His most recent books are Capitalism, Alone, published in 2019, and Visions of Inequality, published in 2023..
Areas of Expertise
Global Inequality
Globalization
History of Inequality
Macroeconomy
Featured Work
Established in 2014, Professor Milanovic’s blog globalinequality covers topics from Marxism to capitalism, as well as many other issues affecting global inequality. He posts several times a month and attract visitors globally.
- Changes in the Income Distributions in China, India, and the U.S., 2018–2023: Branko MilanovicIn this post, Stone Center Senior Scholar Branko Milanovic examines the effects of Covid-19 on China, the U.S., and India, and the return to “normalcy.”
- Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold WarBranko Milanovic discusses his latest book, a sweeping and original history that focuses on how six of the most influential economists saw inequality in their time, with Paul Krugman, Clara Mattei, and Donald Robotham.
- Branko Milanovic’s New Book Explores the Evolution of Economic Thought on InequalityIn this interview, Stone Center Research Professor Branko Milanovic discusses his recently published book, Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War.
- Searching for the Roots of U.S. Inequality Exceptionalism: Janet Gornick and Branko MilanovicIn this post, Janet Gornick and Branko Milanovic discuss the results of their study, “In Search of the Roots of American Inequality Exceptionalism: An Analysis Based on Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Data,” an examination of what underlies the high level of income inequality in the U.S.
- Branko Milanovic: Expert Knowledge and Policy-Making, EUI InterviewBranko Milanovic discusses expert knowledge and policy-making in this interview by Miloš Vojinović of the European University Institute (EUI) as part of their series on the crisis of expert knowledge and authority.
- From Measuring the Top 1 Percent to Studying the Effects of Covid-19 on Poverty and Inequality: Nishant YonzanIn this interview, Nishant Yonzan, who earned his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center in 2022, talks about his study, coauthored with Stone Center Scholars Branko Milanovic, Salvatore Morelli, and Janet Gornick, that was recently published in The Journal of Economic Inequality.
- Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of GlobalizationIn this video, Branko Milanovic discusses global inequality as part of the Winter 2022 Lecture Series, “Engaging Global Inequality,” at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University.
- Mind the Gap: Disparities in Measured Income Between Survey and Tax DataIn this commentary, originally posted on VoxEU, Nishant Yonzan, Branko Milanovic, Salvatore Morelli, and Janet Gornick analyze when and why household survey data and tax data diverge at the top of the income distribution.
- ‘Six Faces of Globalization’: a Conversation with Anthea Roberts and Nicolas LampPaul Krugman and Branko Milanovic speak with Stone Center Affiliated Scholar Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp about their new book, “Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters. Introduction by Janet Gornick.
- Quesnay, Smith, Ricardo, and Marx: Branko Milanovic on How the Founders of Political Economics Saw InequalityIn this interview, Branko Milanovic discusses what the writings of four classical economists reveal about their perceptions of income inequality.
- Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold WarBranko Milanovic discusses his latest book, a sweeping and original history that focuses on how six of the most influential economists saw inequality in their time, with Paul Krugman, Clara Mattei, and Donald Robotham.
- Branko Milanovic: Expert Knowledge and Policy-Making, EUI InterviewBranko Milanovic discusses expert knowledge and policy-making in this interview by Miloš Vojinović of the European University Institute (EUI) as part of their series on the crisis of expert knowledge and authority.
- Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of GlobalizationIn this video, Branko Milanovic discusses global inequality as part of the Winter 2022 Lecture Series, “Engaging Global Inequality,” at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University.
- ‘Six Faces of Globalization’: a Conversation with Anthea Roberts and Nicolas LampPaul Krugman and Branko Milanovic speak with Stone Center Affiliated Scholar Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp about their new book, “Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters. Introduction by Janet Gornick.
- Branko Milanovic: Age of Economics InterviewBranko Milanovic answers a series of eight questions about economics and capitalism in this interview for the Age of Economics project.
- Economic Inequality After the PandemicBranko Milanovic joins Angella MacEwen and Wolfgang Schmidt in a panel discussion moderated by John Torpey, director of the European Union Studies Center.
- Milanovic on Income Inequality, Part 2: Ricardo and MarxIn this lecture, Branko Milanovic discusses income inequality in the work of David Ricardo and Karl Marx.
- Branko Milanovic: Capitalism and Global InequalityBranko Milanovic discusses his book Capitalism, Alone in this interview for the Dissenter YouTube channel.
- Milanovic on Income Inequality, Part 1: Quesnay and SmithIn this lecture, Branko Milanovic presents how the classical writers François Quesnay and Adam Smith discussed inequality and how their discussion may be interpreted in the terms of interpersonal inequality.
- Virtual Workshop 2020: Global Distribution of Income and Its Political MeaningIn this presentation, Branko Milanovic presents an overview of trends in global income inequality, both between and within countries, from the early 1800s to the present.